Sharp Tongue Ne'er Won Fair Maiden
by Plangkye
Summary: A mishap when Magus oversleeps leaves him and Lucca extremely uncomfortable in each other's presence, and at the same time, unable to stop thinking about each other. Screaming arguments ensue. Based on original SNES translation.
1. A Rude Awakening

_A few words of warning: First, I don't think the beginning chapters are very good. Magus's dream is a joking reference to my days as a horrible Mary Sue, and makes no influence on the rest of the story – rest assured, there are no self-references beyond the first few paragraphs. Also be aware that in my vision of Chrono Trigger, Frog is gay. This is not a terribly important plot point in the story, but it does come up._

-----------------------

"You were gone for so long," Magus said to the girl, fingers entwined in her long, braided hair. "I thought you would never come back from your other world." He gave her a rare smile, which she returned.

"Wake up," she said.

Mildly confused, Magus unconsciously knit his brow. "Pardon?"

"Wake up, damn it!" she said again, her tone of voice not matching her face at all.

"I'm afraid I don't --"

"Honestly!" she continued. "Every single morning -- you'd think a wizard wouldn't be the kind of person to sleep in all the time. Come on, you've been sleeping ages longer than the rest of us!"

Magus blinked, and the girl his arms were around wasn't who she had been three seconds ago. Her long, coffee-colored braid was replaced by a purple bob, and her wire-rimmed glasses were now thick and clunky. "You!" was the last thing Magus said before --

---------------------------------------------

"Honestly! Every single morning -- you'd think a wizard wouldn't be the kind of person to sleep in all the time," said Lucca, rubbing her forehead. "Come on, you've been sleeping ages longer than the rest of us!" She yanked at his shoulder to turn him onto his back, and at that moment, he awoke with a yell.

The combined motive forces of Magus abruptly sitting up and Lucca's yank on his shoulder led him to tumble out of the air where he'd been hovering horizontally in his sleep, roll off the side of his bed, and land squarely atop Lucca on the floor. For a moment, time stopped -- then, Magus was forced to realize exactly where his lips were as Lucca's knee reflexively slammed itself in the most convenient place for it: his groin. Magus made a small, choked sound and rolled off of Lucca, who stood up angrily.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Lucca shouted. "I... what..." she spat, unable to come up with proper words.

"What... happened to her?" said Magus cryptically through gritted teeth.

"What happened to who?" said Lucca, still wiping her mouth.

Magus collected himself and sat up, more slowly this time. "You know, the girl who..."

"The girl who what?" Lucca snapped.

Magus furrowed his brow, thinking. "Come to think of it, I have no idea either," he said, then muttered, "I can't believe all this happened over a stupid dream." Louder, he said, "You must be fully aware that this was your fault for startling me awake."

"_My_ fault!" Lucca exclaimed. "How can you say that when you were on top of me not even half a minute ago? Besides, I wouldn't have had to come in here in the first place if you'd just wake up at a decent hour like the rest of us! Marle and I have eaten breakfast already! I'm just grateful she didn't see anything!"

Magus glared daggers at Lucca. "If she had, both of you would probably be dead."

"Wait, who would be dead if I saw someone on top of you half a minute ago?" There in the door stood Marle, drawn by the commotion.

"Speak of the devil," said Magus under his breath.

Lucca moaned.

-----------------------------------------

"Seriously?" asked Marle. "Magus has bad dreams?"

Lucca sighed. _Probably even more than I do,_ she thought, but aloud, she said, "It would appear so." She had brought Marle aside to explain what had happened while Magus badgered the castle kitchen staff to cook something for him.

"Sucks that you had to have him fall on you," said Marle, making a face. "I'd have probably died if it was me instead of you. Or something."

Lucca sighed. Already the day was off to a positively awful start, and yesterday had been no picnic either -- particularly, she noted, the part that literally had been a picnic, since Marle's royal upbringing had never included cooking lessons. She'd had stomach cramps all day after eating what the princess had produced -- did wild parsnips even grow in Guardia Forest? -- and that had made the battle with Yakra's thirteenth-generation grandchild even less pleasant. Worse yet, after the single high point of Marle making up with her father, dinner had been something Lucca was allergic to, and everything else was at the other end of the overlong table. Lucca hated formal events anyway, mainly because her grease-stained vest was about the only thing in the world she ever thought comfortable. And then, the next morning, just when she thought everything was over... she shuddered. It had taken a full thirty minutes to explain to Marle exactly what had been going on.

The sounds of explosions emanated from the kitchen, jerking Lucca and Marle away from their conversation. Lucca swore. "Shouldn't have left him alone," she murmured. "Come on, Marle, we need to throw a blanket over this fire."

Marle nodded and followed Lucca to the kitchen, where a pair of mildly-singed chefs were putting out a fire on the stovetop and a third held a plate full of Magus's breakfast.

"Apparently, explosions are commonplace here," said Magus blandly as he took the plate. "Tell your father that his staff needs safer equipment," he told Marle with a sidelong look as he turned and walked from the kitchen to the dining room. Lucca and Marle watched, mouths agape at his utter calm.

"He's crazy," Marle concluded as soon as he'd turned the corner. "But he's right. Things blow up all the time in the kitchens."

"You too?" Lucca asked her. "I thought that only happened when my dad was trying a new recipe."


	2. A Second Rude Awakening

Lucca was repairing something in Epoch's engines again. She wasn't sure what, just that it required fixing, and that was enough. Someone was behind her. "Hello, Crono," she said without looking up.

"Good morning, Lucca," said Crono. "Can you stop what you're doing for a moment? I need to tell you something."

Lucca put down her pliers and shucked off her thick work gloves, then turned and leaned against Epoch. "Yes?" she said, wiping at a persistent grease stain on her face.

"I need to tell you something," Crono repeated, stepping nearer. He took Lucca's hand. Her breath quickened.

"You're... well, I don't know what we -- I -- would do without you," he said to her. "The truth... the truth is that Marle is really annoying. She showed up and started being my girlfriend without asking me or anything."

Lucca was suddenly acutely aware of her pulse. "Crono..."

"Lucca..."

And with that, he planted his lips firmly upon hers. Lucca couldn't believe it. It was finally happening. She pressed herself closer, returning all the vigor of Crono's kiss -- and oh, he was good. Very good. Lucca twined her arms around Crono, feeling his body against hers, running her fingers through his long hair, almost down to his waist...

Almost down to his waist...

Almost down to his waist...

Almost down to his waist...

Almost down to his waist?

Lucca opened her eyes, and gained full view of a sharply pointed ear. And blue hair. And grayish skin.

She awoke from her nightmare with a piercing shriek, disentangled herself from her bedroll, then promised herself as she wiped away sweat that Marle was absolutely never going to cook again.

Rustling in the bushes. Lucca's head snapped around -- a pale, human shape was crashing through the underbrush. "Ow," it said in a feminine voice. Marle. Judging by her choice of attire (undergarments), she'd gotten up hastily.

"Marle?" Lucca asked. "What are you doing up?"

"Well, I was going to get a drink because of all the salt I put in our dinner, and then I heard you screaming so I thought maybe you saw a great big spider or something but then I remembered you sometimes like to watch spiders so that couldn't be it, so I came over here to see what was wrong," she said, failing to verbally punctuate correctly.

"That reminds me," said Lucca. "You're never cooking again. Not only was it entirely too salty, it gave me nightmares."

"Like really really _big_ spiders?"

"No," said Lucca. "I don't mind spiders. If they're big I can just burn them. This was worse."

"Worse than giant spiders?" Marle asked, unbelieving.

"Yes."

Pause.

"Well, what was it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Come on," Marle wheedled. "Daddy always said that if you talk about something it's less scary." Ever since she'd come to terms with her father, Marle had suddenly been reveling in being a princess, pulling out his name seemingly once every ten minutes. This time, however, it made sense.

Lucca considered how she would recount her dream without letting on that she'd been, at first, kissing Crono. She decided to cut directly to the chase. "It was Magus," she said.

"Oh?" Marle asked. "Yeah, he's scary sometimes. Was he a bad guy again? Did he turn traitor?"

"No," said Lucca. "Worse."

"What'd he do?"

Lucca took a deep breath. "Kissed me," she said, her face turning red. "A lot."

Marle seemed to be, for once, at a loss for words. She stared at Lucca, then finally said, "Okay, that's worse." She patted Lucca on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll start up the campfire again and make you some hot chocolate." She stood up, but Lucca grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"No you won't," she told her. "Remember, I don't trust you with anything culinary anymore, even if it's just mixing powder into boiling water. I'll make it myself."

Marle shrugged. "If you say so," she said, and returned to her bedroll, which, Lucca noticed, was zipped onto Crono's. Lucca shook her head and sighed, glad she hadn't told the whole story.


	3. Sun Stone

Lucca sat alone on the dock where Epoch, at that particular moment, wasn't. She was near where Magus normally stood, though he was similarly absent, having taken Marle and Ayla with him to the ruined Sun Palace. Remembering the things she'd heard of the Sun Stone's properties, she wished she could have gone with him in Marle's place, but for some unknowable reason he'd handpicked the two blondes. _Since when is he in charge, anyway?_ Lucca thought as she gazed over the mists of what timelines had never come to pass. If it had been anyone besides Magus, she'd have chalked the decision up to fair hair and large bosoms, but when she tried to think of Magus in that way, it had the effect of breaking something in her mind. She turned away from the inky blackness, toward the lamppost where Gaspar quietly snored. Crono and Frog were conversing with each other, exchanging sword techniques, and Robo was switched off. Even though no time had actually passed, it seemed like it had been ages since Epoch had taken off for the post-apocalyptic future: the End of Time had a curious way of distorting one's perception, and that distortion almost always led to unbearable boredom.

"You're in my spot," drawled a voice behind her.

Damn. They were back.

"I don't see your name etched in any of these stones, _Maggot,_" Lucca snapped by way of a reply. "If you want me to get up, make me."

"I shall choose to ignore your feeble attempt at an insult, Grease Monkey," Magus shot back. "And like it or not, _you are occupying my spot_. I advise you to leave, before I take up your challenge and forcibly remove you. Let me assure you, I have no intention of bothering to be gentle, either." He waved a hand absently at Marle and Ayla. "Just look at them, returning to their own favored locations like good little girls. And you, for no apparent reason whatsoever, decide to take mine instead."

"You personally chose those 'good little girls' for your mission to Sun Palace," Lucca replied. "Why in the world did you choose _them_ of all people? Don't tell me you've got a thing for blondes... I'd never have guessed, after what you did yesterday morning."

"For your information," Magus sneered, "I picked them for their abilities, not their hair color. The Prehistoric Prostitute is a useful asset when it comes to ferreting out treasures. Princess Airhead is, I must admit, a far better healer than either she or your pet golem, and there is no way in hell I would take the Amphibian." His mouth twisted in distaste. "And I would request that you kindly not remind me of yesterday morning's fiasco."

"I don't exactly relish the memory myself," said Lucca, mentally debating whether it would be more satisfying to just push the whole thing under the rug or to never let Magus forget it. "And Robo is not a _golem_, he is a _robot,_" she finished.  
"That's even worse. Now, will you please leave my personal space, as while any distance is much too near, further is better."  
"All right, I'll go somewhere else! But only because I'm sick of arguing with you!" Lucca left in a huff, and took her normal place near Gaspar. "I can't believe you didn't invite me," she shot at Marle.

"Oh yeah! Yeah, Lucca, you gotta see this! We put the Moon Stone in Ayla's time, and then went to the future, and it wasn't there, and we went back to our time, and it still wasn't there, and the mayor's house was glowing in Porre, and he said he didn't have it, and so we gave his ancestor some jerky and then he gave us the stone." Marle inhaled sharply, out of breath from her run-on sentence. "And then we put it back and we're about to go back to the future to get it and do you want to come?"

Lucca rubbed her temples. "First," she said, "please learn how to punctuate when you talk. Second, I most certainly do. Lead the way."

"Okay!" said Marle, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Come on, Crono, let's show Lucca the Moon Stone!"

"Sun Stone."

"Yeah, Sun Stone!" Marle amended, and grabbed Lucca's wrist to drag her back to Epoch, with Crono following. Lucca shot Magus her most venomous glare, which he obliterated with his own (far more practiced) as Lucca settled into the pilot's seat. _There go two idiots and a smartass,_ Magus thought as Epoch's engines fired up.

"Set course for 2300," Lucca murmured, then turned to Marle. "You'll have to give me directions, since you're the only one here who's been there. And you will _not_ get us lost. That's an imperative, not an assurance."

"A what?"

Lucca sighed inwardly. "Never mind. Just tell me, did you actually fly anywhere after you took off?"

"Nope!"

"That's good, then, we'll come out -"

Epoch broke out of the space between times, hovering over a vaguely heart-shaped island with a high rock spire, tall enough to break the clouds, at its center.

"- right on top of it," Lucca finished. "This the place?"

"Yep! The cave's over..." Marle squinted, then pointed. "There," she said.

Lucca maneuvered Epoch down through the howling winds and landed near the mouth of the cave. She wrapped a weatherproof cloak around herself and retracted the canopy, and the three of them made for the cave.

----------------------------------------

Crono and Marle sat together on the sofa in Lucca's house. Lucca had been near-ecstatic upon discovery of the Sun Stone, and had rushed it back to her house to begin experiments on it immediately. She'd been working for hours, murmuring to herself, to determine a safe and reliable way of extracting the energy of the Stone and storing it in a more portable container. Finally, with a shout of jubilation, she held aloft a small cartridge, which she then placed in the ammunition slot of her gun. "And it's finished!" she said triumphantly, leaping up and twirling about the room. She dropped into a battle stance and pointed the gun at various places around the room, finishing with it aimed directly at Marle's chest. "One Wondershot, now in possession of its inventor, Lucca Ashtear! Sometimes I amaze myself."

"It's very nice," said Marle, "but could you point it the other way? You're creeping me out."

"Relax, it's not active," Lucca assured her, and clicked the trigger to demonstrate. Sure enough, nothing happened besides Marle jumping about a foot. "But I'll put it away if it makes you feel better." She struck one last pose, then clipped the gun to a strap so she could easily carry it across her back.

Taban, standing in the doorway, applauded. "That's my girl," he said proudly. "Now, Lucca, are your friends staying for dinner?"

"Dunno. What's to eat?" Crono asked.

"Oh, maybe I could make some of that cheese and broccoli casserole you liked so much last time you were here? Oh, come on, you should eat your vegetables," he said when Marle looked unsure of his proposed creation. "Lucca and Crono can vouch for it, can't they?"

"Seriously," Lucca told her, "it's really good. It's got ham in it too."

"What kind of cheese?" Marle asked, still dubious. "Because Crono eats just about anything, and Lucca's sort of...;"

"Mozzarella," said Lucca and Taban at the same time.

"I've never heard of mozzarella in a casserole! Isn't that kind of weird?"

Taban raised his eyebrows. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, young lady! I know how to cook my own invention!" He laughed. "Just you wait. I promise you that you will enjoy my cooking, and if you don't, I shall personally prepare Her Royal Highness a meal of her own taste." He swept a theatrically low bow.  
Lucca snickered. Her father had no idea of the accuracy of his statement. "He's like this with me too," she whispered to Marle. "Except I only get it when he's improvising, not when it's something he's made before."  
"Good," Marle replied.


	4. Girl Time

Dinner proved surprisingly pleasant. Lucca's mother, who had not yet met Marle, was almost overly animated for a woman who had lost the use of both her legs; however, whenever Marle began to show signs of curiosity on the subject, Lucca steered the conversation in a different direction. Marle decided that, despite her expectations, Taban's casserole was indeed excellent, probably due to the fact that she "wasn't used to this kind of mozzarella."

"What? What kind of mozzarella do you normally eat?" asked Taban, incredulous.

"It's much whiter and softer," said Marle. "I've never had this kind before."

"What are you, some kind of nobility?" Taban asked, incredulous.

Marle laughed awkwardly. "Something like that," she said. "I'm going to get so fat from this... I bet I'll be ten pounds heavier tomorrow."

"Marle," said Lucca, "that's impossible. You haven't eaten ten pounds of food."

"I still shouldn't eat so much heavy food," said Marle, slightly red. "And there's so much left!"

"That's all right," said Lara. "This stuff keeps. Taban and I will have more of it tomorrow. So, what's it like, treasure hunting and seeing the world?"

"It's... well, I dunno," Crono replied. "Sort of dangerous, I guess, but it lets me practice with my sword. I've gotten a lot better. And we've found some neat stuff. There was some great treasure up in the Denadoro Mountains."

"The Denadoros?" asked Taban, furrowing his brow. "But there's no path there! How did you ever find your way down? The last records of any traveling there are from four hundred years ago!"

"Er," said Crono feebly, "it's a mountain, right? Pretty easy to tell which way down is once you're up, I guess..."

"And Ayla's a good tracker," Marle chimed in. Lucca elbowed her, and Marle realized what she'd said. "Um, she's sort of this person we met while we were in the wilderness somewhere," she explained.

Lucca nodded. "Not the most articulate, but good to have around," she added. "Never gets lost. She must have an internal compass like some animals."

"Well, we'd love to meet her someday!" said Lara, smiling. "Bring her around next time you're in the neighborhood, all right?"

Lucca gulped and tried to think of an excuse not to bring a Cro-Magnon woman to dinner. "She'll eat you out of house and home," she decided to say. "And she doesn't really like civilization that much. I could ask her, but..."

"Well, if she decides to come, she's welcome," said Lara. "Are your friends staying the night, Lucca? We can set up the sofa as a bed for Crono, and Taban can bring the cot down from the attic so... Marle, is it? can sleep in your room."

Lucca sighed at the thought of sharing a room with Marle overnight, but it was a whole lot better than Marle spending the night downstairs with Crono. Her parents wouldn't have allowed that anyway. Who knew Marle wasn't so bad when she wasn't all over Crono, so it might even be fun at best, and at worst, it wouldn't be awful. iToo bad we don't have any common interests,/i Lucca mused. While Marle shopped for expensive new clothes, Lucca shopped for expensive new power tools. Her wardrobe consisted mainly of several identical-but-for-grease-stains copies of her orange vest and green turtleneck, with two pairs of long pants for cold weather and a dress she hadn't worn in years.

"Great, this'll be fun!" piped Marle, oblivious to the awkward differences. "Come on, Lucca, let's go upstairs! We haven't just sat and talked in iso/i long!"

"Yeah, great," said Lucca with a halfhearted smile. "I'll have to clean up a little to make room, my floor is covered with books." And all kinds of books, from superhero comics to scientific treatises. "I have, uh..." She paused for a moment, thinking on what might possibly interest Marle. "A hairbrush," she decided, "and I can probably find some old rubber bands from when my hair was longer." With a mechanic daughter and a mother who almost never went out, Lucca's house suffered from a severe dearth of beauty supplies. As she helped to clear the table, Lucca tried to convince herself that the impending girl time' would be fun.

------------------------------

Marle turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining companion when she wasn't in Crono's presence. Lucca had expected her to be unbearably slow, but she was in fact fairly well educated, if lacking in common sense (Lucca still had not forgotten the words "Say, what does this button do?" that Marle had uttered in Arris Dome). She was even fun as long as Lucca steered the conversation away from Crono. If he was not mentioned, Marle's constant reminder of Lucca's utter lack of feminine charm was tiny enough to forget completely. Marle's sense of humor also turned out to be a breath of fresh air: Lucca could tell all of her stupidest jokes, at which her parents usually simply rolled their eyes, and have them appreciated for once.

"Hey," she said to Marle as Marle ran a brush through her hair.

"Yeah?"

"What's brown and sticky?"

"Eww! Um, molasses?"

"A stick!"

Marle paused for a moment, letting it sink in, then broke into laughter. "Oh, darn," she said when she calmed down. "Your hair slipped when I cracked up. Hold still, and pass me those barettes. I wish your hair was longer, then we could do so much more with it!"

Lucca did so, and as Marle pinned her hair up over one ear. "So," said Marle, grinning mischievously, "Dalton or Magus?"

"In a battle of what?" asked Lucca as Marle turned her around and started styling her bangs. "Wits? If it's wits, I gotta admit it's Magus, awful as he is. I mean, Dalton was kind of dumb. There was some major testosterone poisoning going on there. But he definitely had better fashion sense. I mean, come on Dalton might have shown way too much leg, but Magus wears leather underwear outside his pants, for crying out loud!"

"No, silly," Marle said. "There, look at yourself in the mirror. But I mean, which one is hotter?"

Lucca winced. Neither choice appealed to her in the least, though she sensed Marle had meant it that way. "Well," she said, looking at her now far more feminine self in the mirror, "if I had to think about it objectively, I do think Magus has better hair. And the pointy ears are kind of neat, too... Dalton's face is kind of better though, less pointy. Even though he has a missing eye... heck, some people go nuts over pirates, so why not? So... Magus's hair, eyes, and ears on Dalton's body? Then we're talking." She mentally slapped herself. "I did not just say that. I did NOT just say that!"

"Aww, it's just whaddayacallit, hypothetical? Is that the word?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, that one. They're both way too old anyway!"

"Fine then. In that case, uh... Frog or Robo?"

"EWWWW!"

The two girls collapsed laughing.


	5. Rust

Next morning, Lucca had gained a significant amount of respect for Marle, which she nearly lost again when Marle attached herself to Crono upon descending the stairs. Lucca sighed. Marle really wasn't that bad -- far from the intellectual companion she craved, but still a lot of fun to be around, even though she was a living reminder of Lucca's romantic inability. She was better than Ayla, though: conversations between Ayla and Lucca frequently turned into anthropological studies. Lucca sighed again as she left the house, heading for Epoch's pilot seat. Even Ayla had someone, though Kino wasn't quite cut out for their lifestyle. Lucca shoved the thoughts from her mind. Dwelling on the inevitability of her apparent asexuality would only get her depressed.

"Say," said Marle, "what was that thing Gaspar said about a woman in the Middle Ages reviving a forest?"

"'In the Middle Ages, a woman's sheer determination brings a forest back to life,'" Lucca recited. "Why?"

"Well, if Gaspar said something about it, it ought to be important," Marle explained. "Thought it might be something we should check out. Want to come?"

"Not really," said Lucca. "I'm in the middle of a chapter from that book I was reading last night, and I want to finish. It was just getting good."

"What, you mean the trashy rom --"

"SHH!" Lucca briefly let go of Epoch's controls to clamp her hand over Marle's mouth, still too late to avoid the revealing of her embarrassing romance novel habit.

"Lucca! Controls! Fly!" Crono shouted, but he was also too late. With an awful shriek of metal on stone, Epoch's starboard wing collided with the dock at the End of Time, leaving the tip bent at a useless angle.

"Is everyone all right?" Lucca asked, panting. "I can fix it, don't worry." She hoped she was right.

Crono and Marle nodded as Lucca retracted Epoch's canopy. The three of them debarked, and Lucca examined the wing. "Well, I'm sure stuck here now," she said. "This is going to take all of the forever I have to fix."

"We're all stuck here," Marle pouted. "It can't fly until you're done fixing it."

"You're half right," said Lucca, collecting tools and solder from Epoch's storage compartments. She took a moment to dig in her pocket. "You've still got this," she said to Marle, handing her the Gate Key. "Careful with it -- I can't make another one without my lab at home."

Marle took the key and turned to Ayla, Frog, and Robo. "Which one of you wants to come with Crono and me to fix a forest?" she asked, but Lucca interrupted before any of them could answer.

"Crono stays here," she said. "I need him to help with repairs, since he's the one who understands Epoch best, after me." In truth, she'd said it mainly out of jealousy, but it was a good excuse.

"Okay," said Marle, and turned to the others again. "Which two of you want to come with me to fix a forest?" She turned briefly to Magus as well, who ignored her, and Ayla was fast asleep.

"It would seem that only Frog and I are able and willing at this time," beeped Robo. "To when and where do we depart?"

"Frog's time," Marle answered. "Come on, let's go." Gate Key in hand, she made for the pillars of light that would take her, Frog, and Robo to the medieval Truce Canyon. The three of them rose into the air and faded away.

-----------------------------------------

Marle and Frog returned just as Lucca was finishing her repairs on Epoch's wing. Using her finger as a welding torch, she reinforced the last of the rivets, then looked up. "Where's Robo?" she asked.

"Er," said Marle, "I think you better come see this."

Lucca had a sudden feeling of dread. "Get in," she told Marle and Frog. "I'm pretty much done fixing it. I still need to sand it flat, but it'll hold up for flight just fine. Middle Ages?"

"Nay," said Frog. "In my time, your mechanical friend is quite well. He hath stayed behind to replant the forest, and hath asked us to retrieve him when the forest is regrown. It is to the future, your time, that we must depart."

Lucca nodded palely and took off. When Epoch broke out of the infinite threads of time above a forest, Lucca wondered where she was, then spotted Porre off in the distance. "Wasn't this a desert last time I was here?" she asked.

"Yep," said Marle.

"So Robo did... all this?"

"He did," Frog assured her. "Land Epoch near the chapel there."

Lucca did so, and pushed open the chapel's doors. There, at the end of the aisle, sat Robo's rusted hulk, sitting enshrined on the altar. "Oh gods," she said quietly. "Help me, you two!" Using all their strength, Lucca, Marle, and Frog dragged the lifeless thing Robo had become from its place. Lucca searched for his activation switch. It took a fair amount of work to get it into the on' position, but when it did, a faint whirring issued from Robo's chest. Lucca prayed.

"Systems reactivated," said Robo finally. "Wh... where am I?" The light in his eyes flickered erratically. It was not the only circuit that was rusted: the sound quality of his voice was much worse than usual. "Ahh..." he grated. "Lucca, how nice to see you."

"Robo..." Lucca whispered.

"For you, it was a quick hop," Robo continued, "but for me, four hundred long years have passed."

Lucca's mind flashed to a vague memory of the second time she had repaired Robo, the time after his encounter with his six brothers. She smiled wanly as she remembered her words: "I hope I never have to do that again!" This job was a hundred times worse.

"The effort was worth it!" said Robo, his eyes flickering. "The forest has grown back! Now, let us celebrate our four-hundredth-year reunion."

Lucca threw her arms around Robo's rusted form and wept.

-------------------------------

The sphere of light in Gaspar's hand winked out, and he smiled. "Your friends would like to see you," he told Crono and Ayla. "They are waiting for you in your time, Crono. Go there." He turned to Magus. "Yes, you too."

Crono nodded. "But how do we get there?" he asked. "Lucca has Epoch."

Gaspar bent down somewhat laboriously and picked a fallen object up from the floor. "Your lady friend should be more careful not to drop things," he said as he presented Crono with the Gate Key. "Now, go. They are waiting for you."


	6. It Begins

The reunion celebration with Robo took place in Fiona's forest, under the stars. A campfire crackled in the middle of a grassy clearing, throwing erratic shadows across the faces of Crono, Lucca, Marle, Frog, and Ayla, as well as Robo's chassis. Magus stood alone at the base of a thick tree, brooding, only once contributing to the group's conversation. Finally, Robo suggested that they all "turn in for the night," which was met with general assent.

However, for reasons unknown, Lucca could not sleep. Sighing heavily, she stood up and left the group where it was, sleeping around a still-burning campfire. It was too warm so near the flames. Once the campsite was nothing more than a glow from over a hill, Lucca sat down on the grass and thought about nothing. Her head itched. Lucca removed her helmet and, for lack of anything else to do, began polishing its metal parts.

The brass of Lucca's helmet shone like a mirror by the time she felt the presence of another. She cautiously looked up, and exhaled in semi-frustration. "What are you doing here, Magus?" she asked, replacing her helmet on her head.

"Nothing of import," answered the mage. "Are you normally this fastidious with your belongings?"

"I just need something to take my mind off things," Lucca replied. Already Magus's tone was sarcastic, and it grated on her nerves. She stared up at the starry sky, avoiding Magus's face. "You of all people must know what that's like. I don't think I've ever seen you when you weren't brooding about something or killing things, you know that? Just leave me alone."

"And what could you possibly know about brooding?" asked Magus, making a face. "You, with your happy-go-lucky attitude and your obsession with machines. What source of sorrow could you possibly have that could even compare to what I have been through?"

"Shut up, you don't know anything about me!" Lucca replied. "All right, so you've got it worse, but I've still effectively lost people -- and it was my own fault!" Her voice was becoming husky at the thought of her mother. _I could have done something,_ she thought, then squashed it. No use dwelling on things, or she'd turn into another one of _him._

"Don't be foolish, Grease Monkey. Nothing has changed between you and the Idiot," Magus said. "Oh yes, I've seen the way you look at him. But he has a princess -- why should he look at you as anything beyond a younger sister? If he even realizes you're a girl. You certainly don't act like one."

Magus narrowly avoided flinching as Lucca whirled on him. "For your information, I was talking about my mother," she spat. "Not Crono. And at least I'm not some hyper-feminine, bubble-headed, spoiled... aristocrat! How Crono can ignore me, who's been right under his nose for years, for someone whose makeup outweighs her brain is far, far beyond me!"

"Face it, Poindexter," said Magus blandly, "The Idiot is smitten with Princess Airhead, and there's nothing you can do about it. You'd do best to forget him and move on."

Lucca surprised Magus - and herself - with a dry bark of a laugh. "Princess Airhead," she said. "I like that. Who'd have thought you had a sense of humor?"

"It's very dry," Magus replied without looking at her.

"Indeed," said Lucca without thinking. Startled at herself for speaking to Magus as a companion, she fell silent.

"I've called her that before," said Magus, "but you didn't seem to notice."

"That's right," said Lucca, who had calmed down significantly, then laughed again. "You called Ayla the Prehistoric Prostitute... oh, I'm a terrible person for thinking that's funny. Do you have such flattering nicknames for the rest of us?"

"None so creative, except for yours," Magus replied. "You're Grease Monkey. Your friend with the hair is Idiot, and then there are Amphibian and Machine." He cocked his head slightly. "Annoying of the Amphibian to actually _want_ to be called by his species. It makes it so much more difficult to insult him. But frankly, you're more likely to land him than the Idiot, and that's near impossible as well."

"And why would Frog be uninterested in me?" Lucca asked indignantly. "He's definitely more friendly with me than he is with you."

"Dear, dear," said Magus. "All that means is that he doesn't hate you. Mind, the Amphibian has every right to hate me, after what I took from him."

"His body, his life, and his best friend?"

"Not to mention love," said Magus.

"Wait, you killed his lover too?" said Lucca, her voice going cold. "Or are you going to blame all this on Ozzie's manipulations?"

"It was only Sir Cyrus I killed."

"Wait, so... Cyrus... oh. Oh." There was an awkward pause. Then, "Are you sure?" Despite the sensitive subject, she seemed less angry. She lay down on the hillside, hands beneath her head.

"Positive. Haven't you heard the way he speaks of him? The Amphibian worshipped the ground Sir Cyrus walked on -- and the intelligence I'd placed in Guardia Palace always reported that Sir Cyrus's green-haired squire was always particularly awkward at formal events, and avoided women."

"That doesn't mean he was in love with the guy," said Lucca. "I don't know. Maybe you're right, maybe not. I'll have to watch what he says from now on, I guess, because damned if you haven't made me curious." She gazed upward. Stars appeared as tiny points of light reflected in her glasses, the mirror-bright band of her helmet, and her eyes, twin green pools looking up at the sky.

It struck Magus that he'd actually made eye contact.

Lucca shivered and sat up, holding her bare knees in her arms. "Egh. Cold." She held herself. "One thing I dislike about night time, for all that it is the only real time for astronomy."

Magus pondered for a moment, then came to a decision. "Here," he said, doffing his cape. "You know, you're not half bad." He wrapped it around Lucca's back.

Lucca's face revealed her surprise. "Are you sure you're feeling all right?" she asked, pulling the garment closer around her shoulders. She didn't notice it either, but she'd made eye contact as well.

"Of course I'm feeling all right."

"You're sure you don't need this?"

"I can take a bit of chill air."

Pause.

"Er..." said Lucca. "Thank you?"

"Yeah..."

Magus's hands lingered on Lucca's shoulders -- neither of them had noticed until then, but they'd been gradually creeping closer together. When Magus was mere inches away, Lucca realized there was something different about him. Surely, none of his features were different; he still had the same red eyes, pointed features, and deep widow's peak, but something about his face was softer than usual. He didn't seem to be a hollow shell of a man anymore. Then it struck her: Magus was smiling. A true smile, probably his first in years.

Briefly, she felt something warm brush against her lips, then Magus recoiled. "I did not do that," he said. "I did not just do that."

Lucca smiled. While she had hoped that her first kiss -- or her first intentional one, anyway -- would be from Crono, she couldn't deny that the feeling of Magus's lips had been actually quite pleasant. "Yes, you did," she said as she moved nearer.

Magus looked at her again. Smiling? But... why? Damned if women couldn't be the most confusing creatures on the face of the planet. Not ten minutes ago, Lucca had been shrieking at him in a fit of rage. He averted his eyes. "I'm too old for you," he mumbled.

"Big deal," said Lucca. "So are a lot of people. And if I can't have Crono, it might as well be you instead."

"Thanks ever so," Magus replied, snapping back to his usual sarcastic drawl. "I'm so happy that you're pleased." Emboldened by his return to semi-aloofness, he finished his words in a decidedly unusual, at least for him, manner: He kissed Lucca again, this time with surety.

It felt right. Neither Magus nor Lucca knew why, just that it was right somehow. They seemed to fit together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle -- for Lucca, exactly how she'd imagined Crono to feel, though goodness knew she wasn't thinking about him right then. Magus's lips held an unexpected warmth, a warmth that she knew she'd never be able to produce in a mere fantasy. Magus was just so... real. No imagined Crono could ever hope to produce the sort of sensation Lucca was experiencing.

Finally, both needed air. Magus inhaled deeply as he opened his eyes, and smiled with half of his face. He saw that Lucca was smiling as well. "Well?" he said, not sure what to expect in terms of a response, or even what he meant or why he said it.

"Do that again," said Lucca.


	7. Nightmares

Lucca went to sleep feeling much better about herself than she usually did. While she never wanted to be as much of a girl as Marle, she was still very pleased that she appeared feminine to _someone_ -- even if "someone" was Magus.

_You know,_ she thought as she lay curled up next to Robo, _it's probably_ really _tough to get_ his _attention that way. And I was the one who did it!_ She smiled to herself proudly. He wasn't even all that bad-looking when he smiled. Quite handsome, really... maybe even a little bit pretty. It was amazing what a smile could do to soften all the angles in his face. And despite his own constantly immaculate appearance, he didn't seem to be all that bothered by the appearances of others -- another good point.

Still, despite Lucca's own changing views of Magus, everyone else saw him as a somewhat creepy but useful asset at best and an abomination at worst. Therefore, her bedroll was on the opposite side of the guttering campfire from where Magus levitated in his sleep. _That is a little unnerving,_ Lucca mused, just before she dropped off.

An hour later, she woke up in a cold sweat. The nightmare had returned. The eerie hum of the machine still echoed in her ears. Her pulse racing, Lucca stood up to take a walk in the trees to clear her mind. A dream... it was just a dream... she tried to remind herself, but it was far worse than just a dream. She had lived the accident yet again, still unable to do a thing about it. She looked around, reassuring herself that it was only a dream, and she saw it: A deep blue flicker not fifty feet down the wooded path, nestled between the roots of a tree.

"A Gate?" she whispered to herself. Curiosity got the better of her. She dug around in Crono's haversack for the Gate Key, walked softly to the Gate, and touched it with the Key. It expanded into a pool of fiery colors. She was leery of stepping through, but her curiosity won out. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, Lucca stepped through the red-orange pool.

She had forgotten how lonely it was to hurtle through the infinite threads of time without a companion. The last time she had done so seemed to be years ago, though she knew it wasn't -- it had been when she had gone searching for Crono, just after her Telepod had malfunctioned. She shivered at the icy wind that blasted at her face. Before she knew it, she had been deposited in a room.

Lucca stood up. She looked around, taking stock of her location. She straightened her glasses, which had gone askew. Her ears were ringing horribly and she felt awfully dizzy, but she knew instantly where she was. It was her own bedroom - but something was amiss. While it was certainly the same room she had grown up in, the floor was... clear. The books that were always strewn about it were oddly absent. _I don't think my room has been like this since about ten years ago,_ she thought, then gave a start.

Ten years ago. Lucca's eyes widened in alarm at the memory of what had happened then. "Did I make it back... to that moment?" she whispered. A page from her diary on the floor captured her attention. She read it:

_6/24/990CE_

_Dad promised to go hiking with me, but he blew me off again due to his work. I hate science! I loathe it!_

Yes... Lucca was standing, as she expected, ten years ago. Before the accident had occurred by a week or two, if the diary entry was recent... but it might not be recent. The scrawled-on paper fluttered to the floor as she stumbled out onto the balcony adjoining her room, overlooking the house's main area.

Her fears were confirmed. There was her mother, doing housework. Standing. Walking. And there, playing in the corner, was a young girl with violet hair.

Lucca realized she was looking at a seven-year-old version of herself.

Lara mumbled as she dusted, casting glances at Taban's latest creation: a garbage compactor. Finally, she said in exasperation, "What _is_ this thing? Taban says to keep away from it, but it's so dusty. I'll just..."

Lucca wanted to shout a warning, but no sound left her throat. All she could do was watch in horror as Lara stooped over the conveyor belt with her feather duster.

"Dear me!" Lara cried, right on cue. "My skirt... it's... I'm _stuck!_ Lucca! Lucca, _help!_"

The young Lucca dropped her toy kitten and rushed over to help her mother. "I can't pull it out," she whimpered.

As Lara frantically tugged at her skirt, her foot slipped, stamping down on the conveyor belt, activating its pressure sensors. The belt began to move. Lara screamed. "Lucca! Enter the password! Stop this machine!"

"But I don't know it, Mommie!"

Lucca felt a pounding in her head as she rushed back through her room and down the stairs. She charged up to her parents' room and ransacked her father's dresser drawers. Socks... spare screwdriver... love note from Lara... nothing. In desperation, she rushed to the kitchen. There, on the kitchen table, sat a single sheet of blue paper. Blueprints.

Lucca grabbed them and frantically searched for some clue as to what the override password might be. Finally, she found it.

_The password is... the name of my lovely wife. Use it in an emergency._

Lucca saw her younger self randomly pulling levers and pushing buttons, desperately trying to halt the progress of the belt. The older Lucca took a deep breath and searched for the "abort" button.

She found it. "Enter password," said Taban's voice. Hastily, Lucca typed in her mother's name. The belt stopped. Lucca exhaled and pressed the main power switch. All of the machine's lights dimmed. The pressure sensors would be deactivated now.

The seven-year-old Lucca rushed to the center of the belt and hugged Lara around her legs. "Thank goodness, Mommie," she said.

A tear rolled down Lara's cheek as she stroked young-Lucca's hair. "Lucca... Lucca..."

Lucca woke the next morning when a dust bunny tickled her nose. Checking to see that no one was around, she rolled out from under her bed. She recalled what her younger self had spoken aloud last night when she wrote in her diary:

_7/2/990CE_

_I feel like I've learned something! I'll study machines now. There'll be no more accidents around here._

The nightmares would be gone. She stepped back through the fire-colored Gate to the forest.

Robo waited for her at the other end. "Who activated you?" Lucca asked.

"You did, Lucca," Robo beeped. "You had not shut me down entirely when you went to sleep. My sensors detected temporal activity, so I came to investigate. Might you inform me of what happened beyond the red Gate?"

She told him.

"Lucca," said Robo, "you've got a kind heart. You're always thinking of others." He opened a small panel in his chest, and produced a small, yellow-green gem. "This is for you," he said. "It's a piece of amber I created using the sap from a tree in my forest. It took four hundred years and a lot of pressure to make! I hope you find it useful."

Lucca took the marvelously-light stone and smiled. "Robo... you're so sweet."

Robo only beeped in reply.


	8. Oops

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" were the first words Lucca heard the next morning. She rolled over and opened one eye. Marle.

"Mrrgphl," said Lucca. "Go 'way. 'M tired." She rolled back over onto her stomach, blotting out the morning light with her pillow.

"Well, I can't see why," Marle retorted. "You went to bed the same time as the rest of us, right?"

Lucca's response was too muffled to make out.

"Turn over if you're going to talk to us!" said Marle, exasperated. "Ayla? A little help here?"

"All right, I'll get up!" said Lucca. "The last time you enlisted Ayla's help to wake me up I think I suffered brain damage! But seriously, I woke up about an hour after I finally fell asleep because of a nightmare I kept having. I saw a Gate in the woods, and it took me back to the thing I was having the nightmare about."

"What was the nightmare about?"

"You've met my mother. You know about her two missing legs. That happened when I was seven, because of an accident with one of Dad's machines. The Gate I found took me back there, and I stopped my mother's legs from being crushed. So, in a nutshell, that's why I didn't get much sleep: My mother can walk again."

For once, Marle seemed at a loss for words. Finally, she said, "Okay, I guess that's a pretty good reason." She looked over her shoulder, towards where Magus still levitated. "Need any help, Crono?"

"He blasted me! And he still won't get up!" Crono replied, looking back with a scorched face. "Can you come get rid of these burns?"

Marle winced. "Coming," she said, and laid her hand over Crono's face. It glowed with a blue-white light for a few seconds, leaving Crono's face untouched except for a few streaks of soot. "I'm afraid I can't fix the hair he burnt," Marle apologized.

"'S okay, it'll grow back," said Crono. "Until then I'll just hide it with more hair. I don't understand it. I mean, I know Magus usually sleeps late, but he's not usually this much of a bear in the morning. Lucca, there's tea on the fire if you want any." He turned back to Magus. "Come on! It's almost eleven!"

Lucca had already poured herself a mug of the tea. Sipping at the steaming liquid, she said, "I'd just let him sleep a bit longer. He was... brooding again. I, er, saw him staring off into the woods when I got up to clear that nightmare from my brain." She paused a moment. "He was probably up even later than me. Just leave him alone. Next time he'll probably do something worse."

The lie seemed to satisfy Crono. "I'll let him alone, then," he said. "He's going to miss breakfast, though, and he'll be even surlier if it's gone cold by the time he gets around to eating it. How're the eggs coming, Frog?"

"Nigh finished," Frog replied. "It is quite a relief that the Daughters of Fiona have provided us with victuals besides jerky."

_It's quite a relief that Marle isn't the one cooking it,_ Lucca thought.

Crono nodded. "You said it. Have I mentioned it's great to have you around, by the way?"

Frog smiled. "I thank thee, but pray, why is that?" he asked curiously.

Crono sat down next to Frog. "Because Marle's always had servants to cook for her, Robo hasn't got a sense of taste, Lucca was asleep, and Ayla doesn't seem to know what cooking is." He remembered the last time he had made camp with himself, Ayla, and Robo. Ayla's idea of dinner consisted of some unidentifiable crawly thing that she served still alive. "And I'd burn a salad, and frankly I'm afraid of what Magus might say if I ever asked him to make anything."

Frog chuckled. "I'd not trust him not to poison us," he said. "I say, that looks properly done."

"Looks good to me," said Crono. "Swear there aren't any bugs in it?"

"Perish the thought!"

"Aw, I'm just joshing you. I know you wouldn't really give the rest of us bugs."

"What wrong with bugs? They crunchy!"

"Ayla," said Lucca over her tea, "no amount of persuasion is going to convince us that your taste in food is anything less than bizarre."

"Lucca's loss," said Ayla. "Ayla go find yummy bugs."

----------------------------------------------------

Fortunately, Ayla had eaten her 'yummy bugs' on the spot, rather than bringing them back live to season her omelet, so the remainder of the morning went uneventfully. Magus eventually got up on his own and ate in silence. Even he had to admit that Frog was an excellent cook. iYears of solitary living will do that, I suppose,/i he thought. iThe Amphibian is probably a better cook than all the rest of us combined./i

The sun was high before the seven broke camp. After drawing straws, it was decided that Marle, Crono, and Frog would return to the End of Time in Epoch, and the rest would follow using the Gate at Leene Square. Lucca, Robo, and Ayla helped to pack most of the camping supplies into Epoch's hold while Crono, Frog, and Marle packed up their sleeping things and Magus stood doing nothing. ("There are so many of you," he had said, with a smug half-grin. "I'm sure I'd only get in the way." None argued.) Epoch took off around noon.

As Lucca packed up her bedroll, a slip of paper fluttered to the ground. She picked it up, and gaped at its message. In a graceful, slanted hand was written, _Bear in mind, Grease Monkey, that I have no intention whatsoever of continuing what occurred last night. Any delusions you have developed should be dismissed immediately._

The note was not signed, but it didn't need to be. Lucca almost felt like she was about to cry. "Asshole," she muttered. "I should have known." Seconds later, the message was shredded and burned.

"Well," Lucca announced glumly when Ayla and Magus were properly packed, "I suppose we should be off. North?"

Ayla nodded and Robo beeped, while Magus kept up his pretense of ignoring everything.

"Right, then," said Lucca. "I've got a compass in here somewhere, give me a minute." She placed her haversack on the ground and began taking things out of it, looking for the compass.

Her three companions watched in something like awe as the pile grew to a size that probably shouldn't have fit in the bag: a set of multi-sided dice, insect netting, a roll of copper wire, a few batteries, a pair of pliers, a wrench, a book (Magus was amused to see it was a romance novel), jerky, a spiral notebook, wire cutters, sewing supplies, boot polish, a toothbrush, a first-aid kit, several rubber bands, a hairbrush, a soldering iron, a chisel, a dust rag, an abacus, a few pencils, a pair of work gloves, tissues, a bar of soap, tweezers, a magnifying glass, machine oil, a spare set of clothes, a few field guides, toothpaste, sunscreen, allergy pills, a spyglass, a tube of plastic glue, a nail file, a hot mat or three, soldering flux, solder wire, tea bags, a mess kit, a box of matches, and finally, the compass. "There it is," Lucca said, placing the compass aside as she began fitting her things back into the bag, unaware of the expressions of incredulity, mild surprise, and utter, metallic blankness staring at the heap.

As she put everything but the compass back in the bag, something clicked in Lucca's mind. She mouthed a curse, and frantically searched through her pile of belongings. The Gate Key was nowhere to be found. She relayed the news to the others.

Magus winced. "You can't be serious," he said, knowing full well that she was.

"You saw that huge pile of stuff. Was there a Gate Key anywhere in it?"

"Ayla check stuff too!" Ayla offered, and promptly upended her belt pouch. Several leaves and wilted flowers fell out onto the grass, along with a few shiny stones, some dried mushrooms, a few acorns, a bone sewing needle, some prehistoric currency, and a dead mouse.

Lucca wrinkled her nose. "So that's what I've been smelling," she said. "Ayla, why are you carrying a dead mouse?"

"Saving for later," Ayla replied matter-of-factly.

"Don't tell me you were going to _eat_ that! Just throw it away, it's gone bad. You'll get sick if you eat it."

Ayla sniffed the mouse by way of confirmation, decided Lucca was right, and pitched the mouse into the woods.

"Good woman," said Lucca, then turned to Robo and Magus. "No chance either of you have it, is there?"

"My compartments contain only repair supplies," Robo beeped apologetically. "Magus, what do you have?"

He shut his eyes for a few moments. "My spellbooks and components. The hood that goes with this cloak. Spare set of clothes. My scythe." He opened his eyes. "Nothing else."

With that, Lucca let fly every curse word in her mechanic's vocabulary, collected over the course of her seventeen years, including a few she hadn't known until Magus had used them the other morning. "Thrice-cursed..." she finished. "Well, Ayla, Robo, Asshole, it looks like the key is with one of the three of us who aren't here. We're going to have to sit tight in this period until they come rescue us."

Ayla and Robo seemed indifferent, but Magus massaged his forehead. "You mean to tell me that I am trapped here with you, her, and that _thing_" -- he pointed at Robo -- "until one of those other three idiots discovers the Gate Key in his pocket?"

"That's the general gist of it, yes," Lucca shot back. "And you'd best make the most of it. The four of us are grounded until who knows when, and most of our camping supplies aren't with us. So unless you want to sleep in the woods for some indefinite amount of time, you'll follow me. I'm going to Porre." She glanced at her compass and stalked off southwards, Robo and Ayla trailing behind.

Magus opened his mouth to protest, but couldn't think of what to say. Again, he swore under his breath, and started walking. iThis is the absolute worst, he thought to himself. As if it weren't bad enough I'm stranded, I'm stranded with the Machine and the Prehistoric Prostitute. Grease Monkey might not be so bad by herself, but she's angry at me now.i. His mouth twitched. iWell, she has every right to be angry. Perhaps my note was a tiny bit harsh. She had better not be heartbroken, though./i He exhaled audibly. iEither way, she's the only source of entertaining conversation among the six of them, let alone the three, and now I'll have to resort to arguments to keep from boredom./i

His thoughts were summed up by the three words he didn't hear Lucca say: "Gods, this sucks."


	9. Death Threats

By Robo's estimate, the four of them were about halfway to Porre by the time the sun began to set. "I suppose it's jerky again," Lucca sighed as Ayla set about building a campfire.

"Never mind that," said Magus. "You! Cave woman! Leave off that and let _her_ do it," he ordered, waving absently at Lucca. "Grease Monkey will get that fire going much faster than you ever will. And I need you to go out and catch us something to eat. Kill it before you get back, and make sure it doesn't have more than four legs this time. Be off, now."

Ayla agreed without much protest and bounded off into the thinning forest. Magus turned to Lucca. "Well?" he said expectantly. "Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to get a fire going?"

"Who died and left you in charge?" Lucca muttered as she held her hands over Ayla's pyramid of wood. Within seconds, flames licked the logs. Lucca began unrolling her bedroll atop a patch of moss opposite the fire from where Robo sat in sleep mode.

"That's where _I_ sleep," Magus told her without looking. "You'll have to find somewhere else."

"What's wrong with that spot?" Lucca asked, annoyed, and pointed to a patch of grass near Robo. "I was here first."

"It's too close to that _thing_, that's what's wrong," Magus shot back.

"Oh, for the love of... would you quit calling him a 'thing'? He's a person like any other one of us, just made of metal and wires instead of flesh and blood."

"With no heart or brain, and yet it moves autonomously. That _object_ is an abomination in the face of magic, and I won't go near it."

"Don't tell me you're afraid of him!"

"I most certainly am not. I am disdainful and disgusted, but not afraid by any stretch of the imagination. It is a mockery of the magical arts."

"Robo has nothing to do with magic!"

"My point precisely. Your _machine_ runs on and utilizes some kind of bizarre pseudo-magic, and frankly, I don't know why I don't destroy it for the insult."

"Because he's our friend, that's why!"

"You're a fool. How can you call yourself a mage?"

There was a pause as the two mages glared at each other. Then, Lucca said, "Admit it, _Magus._" Her tone twisted the title into an ugly epithet. "You can't work without us. You need me, you need Ayla, and you need Robo. Especially me. We are trapped in _my_ time, where _I_ know the way around, until Marle, Frog, or Crono comes to our aid. And if they find out you've done away with any of us, they'll leave you stranded - if they don't kill you outright. You know we could. Thank Lavos for your life, because if... it... hadn't come along when it had, you'd be dead in your castle's highest tower."

A vein in Magus's forehead twitched dangerously.

"It would be a very difficult thing to keep Frog away from your throat if he found out you'd killed his friend in cold blood _again,_" Lucca continued, twisting the knife further. "And even if they didn't kill you, you're completely incapable of traveling through time without Epoch or the Gate Key, so unless you want to kiss goodbye any chance you have of avenging your precious sister -"

At that, Magus snapped. Without even letting Lucca finish her sentence, he whirled on her, pinning her by the neck to a tree while his other hand crackled with dark energy. "Tell me now why I shouldn't kill you right here," he ordered, his voice a deadly hiss. "I've more power than you know. I could kill you now, reanimate your corpse, and keep up the illusion that you were alive long enough to murder the rest of you and simply _take_ your Wings of Time."

Lucca clawed at Magus's hand, face pale, trying to loosen his grip just a little. She had never before seen him this positively livid. This anger at personal insults went far beyond his wrath at the Ocean Palace, and it made his anger at his interrupted summoning seem like mere annoyance. His teeth were bared in an animal snarl, the corner of his mouth twitched, and veins stood out on his forehead. His skin was dead white, and his eyes were _glowing._ Strands of hair wafted of their own volition around his face, and the hand that held a ball of energy quivered. Lucca croaked incomprehensibly as she struggled to keep him from crushing her throat. "Can't... talk..." she squeaked feebly. Magus threw her roughly to the ground, where she sat panting.

"Fine then," she finally managed to stammer, terrified, as soon as she'd gotten her voice back. "Kill me if you like. You'll never defeat Lavos on your own."

The two of them stood stock still for several moments as the scant color returned to Magus's face. "No," he said, turning away and dismissing his spell. "I..." He paused for a long while, then said simply, "I need you."

Lucca sat up, rubbing her throat. She pondered what he'd said. _I need you._ Was that an admission she was right, or... what?

The rest of the night went uneventfully. Ayla returned with three moderately-sized birds, which she cleaned and Lucca cooked too long. Magus ate in silence, face blank, but Lucca was ignoring him anyway. She was preoccupied explaining to Ayla that it was better to cook meat too long than to leave it underdone. Ayla, taught in childhood that disease was caused by evil spirits, was having trouble with the concept of bacteria, and doubted the value of meat that was at the stage of dryness that it had reached under Lucca's care. Lucca could have kicked herself the next morning.

She had slept next to Robo.

---------------------------------------------

Magus woke the next morning to a knee in his ribs. "Up," said Lucca, hands on her hips.

Magus grunted by way of a reply, and pulled his cloak over his eyes. "Up," Lucca repeated.

He alighted on the ground and leaned on something that wasn't there. "You're awfully cocky for someone who had a near-death experience only twelve hours ago," Magus said to her with a poisonous glare.

"I'm not afraid of you," Lucca replied. "I'm on my guard now, and I don't intend to let it down again. If we start off now, we can make Porre in time for dinner, and you won't have to worry about my cooking or Ayla's idea of food." At Magus's raised eyebrow, Lucca said, "Don't play dumb. I could see you were only barely choking it down last night. But at least _I'm_ not so conceited I can't admit I have faults, like inability to cook without a protocol... sorry, _recipe_ handy."

"Who's conceited?" Magus muttered as Lucca turned on her heel to wake Ayla.

"And turn Robo on for me, will you?" Lucca said by way of a reply.

"I wouldn't touch that thing if you paid me!" Magus shot back.

"You'd do it if you weren't scared!" Lucca needled.

Magus's brow furrowed. "Don't start, Grease Monkey!" he warned.

However, Lucca wasn't listening anymore. "Ow! Ayla, your first reaction to being woken up should not be biting!"

"Too early! Ayla want sleep!"

"Well, we're not in your time, and biting isn't an acceptable response here!" Lucca scolded the older woman. Without turning, she said, "Magus, are you going to turn Robo on or not?"

_Curses,_ Magus thought. He had hoped Lucca would forget about it long enough that she'd eventually turn the machine on herself. Thinking quickly, he made an excuse. "And how, pray tell, do you expect me to know how to do that?"

"Oh, for crying out loud," sighed Lucca. "The switch is on the back of his head. Poke it so the side with the line is in instead of the side with the circle. If you weren't _afraid_ of him, you'd have figured that out already."

"I told you to shut up, Grease Monkey," said Magus in a controlled voice. With an expression of distaste, he strode around behind Robo and prodded the switch with a stick.

"Time... seven-oh-three AM. Good morning, Magus!" said Robo as his eyes flickered to life.

"Just... stay out of my way, Machine."

---------------------------------------

As Lucca had predicted, they reached Porre in the late afternoon. She and Magus had been making verbal digs at each other all day, so both were grateful to be back in civilization. Robo anticipated a good cleaning and oiling now that they had reached town, and Ayla was delighted to be in such a busy place, despite the stares she attracted for her wild hair and scant mode of dress. "The inn's this way," Lucca told her three traveling companions. "We should get to its general vicinity and reserve a couple of rooms before nightfall. Ayla, you've never been to a city in my time before, have you?"

"Ayla not see Lucca-city before," Ayla confirmed. "Ayla see from Epoch, but not go to city on ground. We sleep in big stone hut?"

"Yes. We're looking for one of the bigger ones," Lucca told her. "Within walking view of the ocean, next to a little wood. It has a wrap-around porch -"

"What is porch?"

"That's a porch," said Lucca, pointing, as the four of them rounded a corner and the inn came into view. "This is a nice place, so try not to act too... I don't know."

"Primitive," Magus filled in, his mouth curling into a small smile as Lucca glared at him.

"I really wish you were Crono right now," Lucca muttered as she pushed open the inn's front door. _I can't believe I'm stuck with_ him, she thought, approaching the registration desk. Robo and Ayla were no problem. Robo, as emotionally developed as he was, was still a machine and could be temporarily shut down. Ayla was... well, Magus was right, even if he was rude. Primitive. She was as likely as not to decide to sleep outdoors, and even if she didn't, she usually did what she was advised if she wasn't cranky from hunger or exhaustion.

"Single and a double, please," Lucca asked the man, a note of resignation in her voice. "Near each other if you can manage it."

"Eh? Single and a double?" the man repeated. He looked through the registry. "Terribly sorry," he said after looking through its pages. "It's just that, you see, it's tourist season, and with the Millennial Fair up in Truce... the inn up there is already full, and we're getting overflow here. Again, terribly sorry. We only have a double."

Lucca sighed heavily, partially to hide that her heart had somehow skipped a beat. "All right, looks like we haven't got much of a choice," she said. "We'll take it." _At least the food will be good,_ she thought to herself, forcing the persistent idea of an only-half-clad Magus from her mind.

Little did she know that the thought that wandered through Magus's head at that moment was something along the lines of _Perhaps I'm hiding it _too_ well..._


	10. No Way In Hell

Lucca tried to convince herself that she wasn't enjoying her dinner alone with Magus in Porre Inn's restaurant. In any case, she had no choice in the matter – Robo was submerged up to the neck in an oil bath, and Lucca had been entirely unable to persuade Ayla to sit down and eat civilly, so Ayla was off hunting for her own food. She had not yet returned. Lucca wished beyond measure that a third party were present, only to take her mind off of the fact that her thoughts had been developing occasional disturbing tendencies. She looked up blandly from her dinner. "Just so you know, I'm not enjoying this," she said, as much to convince herself as to inform Magus.

Magus did not reply.

"The silent treatment? What did I do this time?" Lucca pressed.

The edge of Magus's mouth twitched. "I thought you'd be happy I refrained from insulting you, Grease Monkey." _Curse it! Well, I might as well be consistent._ "You think I want to be sitting at a table for two with _you?_ It's a damn good thing we're trapped in your time and not the Amphibian's, or we'd _really_ attract attention."

Lucca gave a wry half-smile, and decided to take a chance. "And what is there to talk about based on a man and a woman sharing a table at dinner?" At Magus's astonished look, she believed she'd failed, and sighed. "I _am_ female, you know. Sorry to disappoint you."

"What do you mean, sorry to disappoint me?"

Lucca grinned wickedly. "You can't hide it forever, you know. If your fashion sense aroused suspicion, your choice of companions pretty much confirmed it."

"I'm sorry?"

"How cute, pretending you don't know what I'm talking about," said Lucca, barely keeping herself from laughing. _Arguing is fun when my opponent stands a chance,_ she thought, and said, "You know who I'm talking about. Flea? I'll bet _you_ know that one's real gender. Not to mention the other one was blatantly named Slash."

"First, they were subordinates, not companions. Second, I do not know Flea's gender. Third, Slash was an excellent swordsman, and no more. What does his name have to do with anything, anyway?"

"An excellent swordsman in what sense?"

Magus gave a dry half-laugh. "You're losing your touch, Grease Monkey. Did you actually think that kind of accusation would offend me? Kindly remove your mind from its current location in the gutter. You're dead wrong, by the way."

"So you are after me after all?" Lucca pressed, barely avoiding snickering aloud.

Magus paused, somewhat taken aback. "No," he finally said. "I am not." _Damn._

"Well, you can't be completely cold," Lucca stated, grinning like a cat discovered near the empty canary cage. "So if it's not Slash or Flea or me, who is it? Alfador?"

"Shut up!" Magus shouted. "The Grease Monkey I know is never so immature. You listen, and listen well. I am not attracted to men, I… I am not attracted to you, and there is _no way in Hell_ I am attracted to cats!"

The shade that had appeared over Magus's nose was too much for Lucca. "You… you…" she said between giggles. It was several seconds before she collected herself enough to say, "Are you aware you're _pink?_

"_Shut up!_" Magus roared as he stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over in the process. "I will not be publicly humiliated like this!" Hands resting on the table, he took a brief glance over his left shoulder, and sighed. A single gloved hand rose from the table to touch Lucca's cheek. It lingered there for half a second before Magus used it to turn Lucca's head away from him, toward the rest of the restaurant. "I told you people would stare," he said.

Lucca paused a moment, then said "Don't touch me," removing the offending hand from its place. "And it's your chair that's on the floor, not mine. Not my fault people are staring. Check, please!"

Magus's mouth twitched. "Just once, I will let that slide," he said. "And since, apparently, you're paying…" He righted his chair and strode away, up the stairs to the too-small room the four of them had to share.

The waitress came to the table holding Lucca's bill. "Bad date?" she asked as Lucca dug in her wallet.

"I don't want to talk about it," replied Lucca, and went upstairs, feeling exceptionally surly.

-----------------------------------------

Fortunately, there were two single beds in the room, and not the double bed that the disturbing side of Lucca's thoughts had been half-hoping for. She pushed open the door.

"Well, look who's here," Magus drawled as she entered. "Now that you've informed me that you _are_ female, and not merely an androgynous Grease Monkey, I feel I ought to ask you not to usurp the bathroom for the entire night."

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't make me completely obsessed with my appearance," Lucca snapped. "But _just for you_, I will try to be quick." She shut the door surprisingly silently for what looked like it should have been a slam.

Six seconds later, the door opened again. "Do you _mind?_ Lucca asked Magus angrily. Her vest was half-off. "I'm trying to change in here!"

"Oh, I do apologize for my terrible rudeness," Magus said in a voice positively dripping with sarcasm. "It's just that… shouldn't _I_ be the one to use the bathroom first, Grease Monkey? I don't trust _her"_ – he jerked his head at Ayla – "not to spy on me during my nocturnal preparations. A man needs someplace invisible to Neanderthals where he can change into his nightshirt, you know. You're female, after all, so it shouldn't matter if she sees _you_. Huh, not that there's anything to see."

"I'll choose to ignore that comment and relinquish the bathroom, Asshole," Lucca replied, inexplicably somewhat hurt. She brushed past Magus, grumbling.

"Will you give the childish nicknames a rest, already? It's beginning to grate."

"As if Grease Monkey is any better!" Lucca shot back. "Would it kill you to call me by my name once in a while? So do you want me to call you Milord Magus? Or perhaps Your Royal Highness? Ass."

"Well, you _are_ a Grease Monkey, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm a Grease Monkey, you're an Ass, and Ayla is a Cro-Magnon, not a Neanderthal!"

"Wonderful," said Magus as Lucca flounced down on the bed where she'd placed her belongings. "I have to choose between crudeness and blatant sarcasm." He shut the door to the bathroom, and the two did not speak to each other for the remainder of the night.

--------------------------------------

Since Lucca tended to go out during the day, her arguments with Magus took the form of short altercations in the evenings for the next few days. Lucca was all set to simply leave him alone, but for some reason, he insisted on starting conversations with her, which invariably went downhill.

Friday evening, Lucca was in a foul mood. Ayla had discovered the bar, and her request for "sweet water" led her to drink more soda than any human should consume in one sitting. Now that all four of them were back in their room, Ayla was uncontrollable.

"What in hell has gotten into her? She's ten times worse than usual!" Magus asked irritably.

"Caffeine and sugar," Lucca replied. "She drank way too much soda while we weren't paying attention.

"Well, in that case, I'm leaving," Magus declared. "I simply cannot take this. You're all right when you're not _yelling _at me, your machine's quiet enough when it's deactivated, but there is no way I will be able to sleep – for goodness sake, stop _sniffing_ me, woman! – with her bouncing off the walls the way she is now. Good luck getting any sleep yourself – ta-ta!" Magus smiled with artificial amiability, waved, and left the room.

Lucca gaped. "Forget Ayla, what's gotten into _him?_" she asked nobody in particular. "He's gotten really – Ayla, don't kill the pillows, we'll have to pay for them – weird lately!" She walked over to Robo and switched him on. "Robo? I need to vent."

"Of course, Lucca," Robo intoned. "I am always prepared to listen. What is on your mind?"

"It's been four whole days, and I've been trapped here with _him,_" Lucca sighed.

"With Magus, you mean?"

"What other 'him' is there? I don't know how much longer I can take it. I get away from him during the day and it's fine, but at night, it's like he's… like he's _following_ me or something, looking for an argument whenever he can get one. And he keeps looking at me! It seems like he's staring at me whenever we're not screaming at each other."

"Have you considered any possible reasons for his abnormal behavior?" Robo asked.

"Didn't I tell you? He's looking for a fight! I can't think of anything else, anyway. But why's he have to pick on me? He never goes after Ayla." Ayla was, at that time, examining the faucets in the bathroom and generally making a mess, but Lucca didn't care.

Robo whirred for a moment. "Negative," he said. "Magus's actions upon his approach to you are incompatible with the patterns of belligerence."

Lucca paused. Come to think of it, Magus had not been initially surly when he'd spoken to her, and it was only after Lucca spoke that their conversations devolved into shouting matches. "Well, what IS going on, then?" she asked Robo.

Again, Robo whirred for a few moments, searching his memory banks. "Magus's behavior pattern is similar to the preliminary steps of human courtship rituals," he concluded.

Lucca gaped. "That's… that's ridiculous! Impossible!" she said. "No way. Not happening. He's told me to my face that he'd never be interested in me." She didn't notice, but a note of disappointment had crept into her voice with her last statement.

"Such a statement was probably uttered in anger at your provocation," Robo explained.

"_My_ provocation!"

"Affirmative. Is this the statement of which you spoke?" Robo's eyes flickered to blue. Lucca was slightly unnerved as Magus's voice issued from Robo's speakers – she knew it was a recording, but nonetheless, it was strange: "Shut up! The Grease Monkey I know is never so immature. You listen, and listen well. I am not attracted to men, I… I am not attracted to you, and there is _no way in Hell_ I am attracted to cats!" There was a click, and Robo's eyes flickered back to green as the recording ended.

"He was that loud?" Lucca asked. "You were all the way upstairs… why were you recording us, anyway?"

"I record all auditory intake, such that I may recall it at will at a later time," Robo explained. "In any case, Magus's tone indicated that you provoked him in some way, and thus, his words should not be taken to be completely free of outside influence."

Lucca nodded, unable to think of anything to say. Robo was right, of course. Until now, her thoughts had been primarily focused on how to avoid Magus until rescue, but with Robo's words, the side of her thoughts she'd previously repressed as disturbing had begun wrestling for control. Something inside her had surfaced, and was making her feel something like excitement, mixed with nervousness, mixed with joy.


	11. Rescue!

Lucca was in a much better mood the next day. Her occasional admonitions to Ayla were less like admonitions and more like explanations, and she hummed cheerily as she performed routine maintenance on Robo. Sometimes, she allowed herself a shy smile in Magus's direction, but only when he wasn't looking. _Not as if he's anything like what I'd ever want,_ she thought, trying to convince herself that she believed it. Even so, she felt a bit smug at the prospect that Magus had chosen her, of all people. She actually felt like a girl for once. "What'd it be like if Crono showed up right now," she mused, and suddenly realized that when she thought of Marle and Crono together, she didn't really care. _Am I over him?_ she asked herself, _or am I just a little distracted?_ An idea crossed her mind, and she smiled. Saying goodbye to Robo, she set off to do something she hadn't done in years: Shop for clothes she didn't need.

A cheery "Hello!" greeted Magus late that afternoon as Lucca pushed the door to their room open. She set down her purchases next to her bed, not noticing that Magus was completely agog, just barely keeping his eyes from straying up and down her legs. "What on earth… why are you wearing _that?_" he finally managed to ask. "You… you look more like Flea than yourself!"

Lucca raised her eyebrows. "What, I'm not allowed to be feminine sometimes? You've already acknowledged I'm a girl, so why shouldn't I enjoy being one?"

"But… a skirt? Heels? A… a…" He tore his eyes away from Lucca's chest and tried to pass it off as surprise and confusion. "A… plunging neckline?"

"Mighty observant of you, O prince. Of _course_ it's a skirt! And the rest was just so cute with it, I had to get it as well…"

"I _know_ it's a skirt! I never said there was anything _wrong_ with it, it's just… are you sure you're feeling all right? I've never seen you wear anything that didn't have grease stains before!" He paused. "How many copies of that orange vest do you have, anyway? You have to understand, it's a bit of a shock to see you acting and dressing like a girl all of the sudden! If it weren't for your hair and glasses, I'd have thought you were Princess Airhead come to rescue us!"

Lucca huffed. "You probably expect me to say 'What, don't you like it?' right now," she said. "Instead, I'm going to inform you that my face is _up here._"

"I've already told you, I'm completely baffled! You expect me not to stare?"

"Not much of a gentleman, are you?"

"You're impossible!"

"I try."

"Ugh." Cloak swirling, he swept from the room. "You look like a cheap courtesan," he called back to Lucca as he descended the stairs. She didn't reply.

------------------------------------

Magus sat alone on the inn's porch, watching the clouds turn color in the setting sun. It wasn't only Lucca's change in behavior that had baffled him – half of it was his own behavior. The last time he'd ever paid attention to anyone's breasts was when he'd suspiciously eyed Flea's after being told that – what _was_ Flea's real gender, anyway? – was actually male. Not once before had a woman had this kind of effect on him, and damned if Magus could figure why Lucca was the first. After all, Marle's cleavage was visible whenever she wasn't consciously trying to cover it, and Ayla… he called Ayla 'Prehistoric Prostitute' for a reason.

In any case, there really wasn't any way to look at Lucca and think her lovely. Cute, yes, but even without her glasses she would need a lot of work before she could be considered a beauty. Her hairstyle was frumpy at best, her nails broken and boyishly short, her figure nothing special, her posture usually slouched.

_So why am I so fascinated with her?_

His question to himself was answered when he recalled her deft fingers, her pragmatism, her diligence, her razor wit. She was the only person with whom he'd been able to have a good conversation, even if the conversations he had with her always broke down into screaming arguments. There was no more denying it. He loved her, right down to the dirt and grease under her fingernails. Her recent display of femininity was just icing on the cake. And he'd finally admitted it to himself.

_Why am I even bothering to chase her?_ he asked himself. _You have no chance, Janus Zeal – she's totally unreceptive. Hates you, even. Haven't you been paying attention to the way she talks to you? It's obvious._

_Besides, she's too young,_ he added. _How old is she – sixteen? Eighteen at the most. Compared to you, she's a child. A_ child!

_But that's not how I see her,_ he answered silently. _She's twice the woman everyone else I've met is. She's bright enough to earn top marks as a Kajar University student, and not afraid to fight like they are. Were,_ he corrected himself, and pressed his lips together at the reminder that the place he'd once called home was gone forever. _But it doesn't matter. I've ruined myself. I am doomed to a loveless existence._

Seconds later he was off like a shot in pursuit of Ayla, who had stolen one of his gloves.

--------------------------------

"Gods! What's taking them so long?" Marle complained to Crono, leaning boredly on the fence at the End of Time.

"That's the problem with this place," said Crono. "Lucca explained it to me once. Something to do with us being outside the spacetime continuum, so however long it takes something to happen in the real world, that doesn't affect how bored we get here. For all we know, they might have left right away, but we still have no idea when they'll get here."

"Well, I'm really bored! Do you have a deck of cards or something?"

"Eh, maybe," said Crono, and dug around in his bag. Polishing rag… a few marbles… prehistoric currency… something lumpy? He drew out the curious object to see what it was.

"Well, now I feel pretty dumb," said Crono as he held up the Gate Key.

---------------------------------

Lucca finished pulling her sweater over her head when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," she said.

The door opened. "Lucca!" said a familiar, and unexpected, voice.

Lucca's head snapped around. "Crono!" She waited for the wash of warm emotions his arrival usually heralded. It never came. Certainly, she was glad to see Crono, but no more so than if it had been Frog or Marle in the door. "I'm… I really am free," she whispered.

"That bad, huh?" asked Crono, misinterpreting Lucca's words. "Don't worry, we're here now. Robo told me it's been a whole week. I wouldn't want to live in a room this size with Ayla for that long either."

Lucca nodded a reply.

"Actually, Ayla by herself might not be too bad," Crono decided, "but to put up with her _and_ Magus? They must have been at each other's throats." He shook his head with a low whistle. "Where are they, anyway?"

"Don't know," said Lucca. "Somewhere in town, probably. They shouldn't be too hard to find. Ayla ran off a while ago and he was chasing her. I'm not sure what was going on."

Crono nodded. "Frog and Marle will probably find them soon, then," he concluded. "They went down to check out a commotion at the fishing docks, and I bet that's where Magus and Ayla went."

A voice issued from downstairs. "…why I didn't kill that thieving harlot on the spot! Don't touch me, _Amphibian!_

They were back.


	12. Words

"I don't care what we've done in the past – we are not all seven of us sleeping in a room this small," said Crono, surveying the room where his four no-longer-missing comrades had been staying. "Draw straws on who has to camp outside?"

"Seems like a good idea," said Lucca. "Robo can just be shut down and placed out of the way, so he won't need a straw. So that means six straws, I guess? How many people per bed are you guys willing to do?"

"Ayla sleep outside," Ayla offered.

"Thank you, Ayla," said Crono. He looked at the beds. "We can probably fit two of us in each of these. That's what you and Ayla did, right?"

"Actually, she decided to sleep on the rug," said Lucca, "but if you want to squeeze two each into these, they're probably big enough that it wouldn't be too bad."

"Sounds good to me. I'll go get some grass," said Crono, and he left the room, returning shortly with a handful. Everyone silently hoped that Magus's wouldn't be the short one, mainly because they didn't want the decision process to take overly long.

Thankfully, Lucca drew it instead. She swore mildly, but it had been fair. "Ayla and I will go set up a shelter, I guess," she said. "See you all at dinner."

There was a general nod of assent, and Lucca left the room. "Now, then," said Magus as she shut the door. "That leaves the question of which one of you is bunking with _me?_"

"Not me," said Marle at exactly the same time that Frog said "Not I."

"As I expected," said Magus. "Well, Idiot, it looks like you and I are bedfellows for the night."

"But I don't want to sleep with Frog!" Marle complained. "I know he wouldn't do anything bad, but he's sort of… well, slimy…"

"Oh, honestly!" Magus massaged his forehead with one hand, and absently waved the other in Frog's direction. Frog sparkled briefly, and the wet shine of his skin dulled. Before Frog could protest, Magus said, "Relax, it's harmless. All I did was make your skin dry to stop the Princess complaining. You'll be back to normal tomorrow." He turned to Marle. "Is that more to your liking, _Princess?_"

"Yes," said Marle sheepishly, looking away to hide her reddening face.

----------------------------------------

Lucca could not sleep that night. She blamed it on Ayla's loud snoring, but in truth, her mind was completely occupied with the question of how she'd gotten over Crono so suddenly. She knew that he and Marle were sleeping in the same room, probably even in the same bed, but somehow it didn't bother her this time. She thought of Frog, who, if Marle and Crono were together, would be sharing a bed with Magus, and inexplicably thought, _What a waste._

_That's a strange thing to think,_ she thought more consciously, furrowing her brow. Trying to think of what had led her to think it in the first place conjured images of long, blue hair and delicate pointed ears, and a smile she was probably the only person ever to see. _No,_ she told herself. _Robo can't have been right. No way. Magus was probably just trying to make the best of cabin fever when he was talking to me so much. He's already decided I'm not worth it._ She sat up. _ods! Why am I even thinking of him this way? I must seriously be desperate._

"I need to walk somewhere," she murmured as she glanced at Ayla's sleeping form. She pulled on her turtleneck, shorts, and boots, and left the campsite.

Coincidentally, Magus could not sleep either, though for him it was due to Crono's tossing and turning beside, and a few inches beneath, him. In addition, he simply wasn't tired. _A little fresh air might help,_ he decided. He fastened his cloak around his neck and went outside to the porch.

For three minutes, he was alone, leaning against the railing and looking out over the ocean, but then he heard someone exhale. Two feet to his right stood Lucca, similarly leaning against the railing. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I couldn't sleep," she explained. "Too many thoughts…" She stopped herself.

"Thoughts about what?" asked Magus.

_Damn it!_ Lucca turned away to hide a blush. "I…" _I can't say it!_

"Out with it," said Magus.

Lucca turned to him. "I… I think…" she managed to say, but the lump in her throat prevented her from saying any more. All she could do was stare at him dumbly. "I…" she managed to say once more.

Magus looked at her. She was biting her lip nervously, eyes flicking between his face and his body. He wasn't wearing a shirt. "You're not trying to say…" he began. "No," he interrupted himself. "It can't be…"

"Yes," Lucca managed to say.

Magus was more than a little taken aback by Lucca's response. "No," he said. "I couldn't hope for…"

Lucca nodded.

"I must be misunderstanding something," he said, unbelieving. "I… how many times have I belittled you and your friends? How many times have I told you I only keep you around as an asset? I almost killed you once… twice, at least! Besides, I must be more than twice your age…"

Lucca looked at her feet. "You're not misunderstanding," she whispered.

Magus was dumbstruck.

Lucca inhaled deeply. "I've… I've finally gotten over the first one I loved," she said quietly. "He never even looked at me like I was a girl. You have. You're the only one who has. Even if you didn't mean it." She took another deep breath, and wiped at her eyes. "I've just switched from one to another," she continued, forgetting to whom she spoke. "Nothing will change. I'm just a… an androgynous grease monkey, forever!"

She turned to leave, but Magus caught her by the arm. The next thing she knew, she had been swept up in his arms and kissed full on the mouth. For several seconds, she was paralyzed by sheer astonishment, but when it sank in that she was really being kissed – and _really_ being kissed, at that – she gave it all she had. She wrapped her arms around Magus's shoulders and pressed her mouth back to his, running her fingers through his hair.

They continued to hold each other tightly for quite some time after they broke the kiss, breathing heavily. "Grease Monkey," Magus whispered, "I did mean it."

"Oh Magus…"

Suddenly, it occurred to Lucca where she was, what was going on, and what was likely to happen if she left her guard down like this. "No!" she shrilled, shoving Magus away from her. "I won't have you… playing with me like this! At least Crono never led me on like you're doing, you… you!" She stood, tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't slap him. Instead, she punched him square in the jaw. "I hate you!" she shrieked as she ran off, sobbing.

Magus stood dumbly as he watched her go. He didn't know how, but he'd royally screwed up yet again. And with that, twenty-five years of pent-up emotion, locked up until then, came to a head. "Grease Monkey… Lucca… Lucca!" he called after her retreating back. He couldn't cry. He wanted to. "Lucca… come back…" he choked. "I… I love you…"


	13. Desperation

Magus couldn't bear to speak to Lucca the next morning, even to say "pass the salt." Neither did Lucca speak to him. She didn't see any evidence of what she'd wrought on him the previous night, but it would have been difficult to do so, since he was doing his best to hide it and wouldn't look at her. The question of what to do next arose.

Frog swallowed his mouthful of food. "There's the ghost of a lofty knight, slain by Magus in the Middle Ages, who haunts thine age," Frog recalled, paraphrasing Gaspar's words. "I... I feel I must seek out this spirit. It may be Cyrus. I never did tell him how... goodbye."

Lucca noted the amendment at the end of Frog's statement. _As good a time as any to find out for sure,_ she decided. _Whether or not Magus is a total ass has nothing to do with what he said to me... then. I've got to know._ "I'll go," she said aloud. "You'll need a pilot."

At Lucca's offer, Magus cursed inwardly. _Did it have to be her? I need the Amphibian alone! This was the best shot I had, until _she_ decided to come along... I can't just tell her she can't without arousing suspicion, but he's the only one who can help me!_ He made up his mind. To everyone's surprise, he said, "So will I."

There were at least three incredulous stares at Magus offering to help Frog of his own free will, but Magus ignored them. He would learn how to properly treat a lady, even if it killed him.

---------------------------------------

"First question," Lucca asked Frog as soon as they had seen Robo, Ayla, Crono, and Marle off, ensuring that one of the four was carrying the Gate Key. "Do we have any idea of where to start looking for this ghost?"

Frog shook his head. "Not a one," he said. "Hast thou heard tales of haunted places in thy time?"

"Nowhere that's real," Lucca replied, shaking her head. "I can think of a few places we could try, though - trouble is, I don't know where they are, so you'll need to fill us in, Frog. From what I've heard of the paranormal, spirits usually haunt either someplace important to their lives, the places they died, or the places they were buried. So, can you think of anywhere that was important in Cyrus's life?"

"Perchance Guardia Castle or Zenan Bridge?" Frog suggested. "Zenan Bridge was where he decided to serve as a knight," he explained when Lucca looked quizzical.

Lucca shook her head. "Both those places are way too well-known. I'd have heard something about a haunting at Zenan Bridge, and there are plenty of little ghost stories about the castle. I've heard a lot of them, and if Cyrus was in the castle somewhere, it'd be a popular one. Any other ideas? Do you know where he was buried? Oh - you were there when he died, weren't you?"

Frog shut his eyes. "I know not where he lies now," he said in a near whisper. "But he died on the slopes of Mount Denadoro, just near the Cave of the Masamune. Perchance..."

"Well, that could be something," Lucca replied. "Nobody I've heard of has been up that far on the mountain for centuries, so who knows what's up there? It's the best lead we have. Let's go."

From the beginning of Lucca and Frog's conversation to the end of the flight to Mount Denadoro's foothills, Magus said not a word.

Lucca landed Epoch as close to the mountains as she could. She gave a low whistle as she surveyed what was before her. "I wish Ayla were here," she concluded. "It's going to take a lot of searching to find that cave, if it even still exists. This is going to be a neat trick if we can pull it off."

"We must," said Frog simply.

"I know. It's just... without some kind of a map of where the trail used to be, this could be a lot harder than I thought. Wait! I have an idea. Come with me." A quick hop in Epoch to four hundred years ago located the beginning of the path, but also led to the discovery that the recent earthquakes in Lucca's time had caused the mountains to shift. "Well," said Lucca, "this throws us a loop. Hang on, I'll think of something." She landed Epoch, murmuring about machinery.

"A transponder put in the right place ought to do the trick, but I don't think a battery exists that could last four hundred years," she said, scratching her head under her helmet. "But we've got to think of something..." She looked to the sky, shielding her eyes from the dull glow of the sun through the clouds, and snapped her fingers. "A solar panel," she decided. "I'll build a transponder with Epoch's spare parts, weatherproof it... won't take me two hours." Lucca retracted Epoch's canopy and climbed down from it, rambling about how she'd do it. Magus felt a pang as he watched her. Lucca's determination was one of the things he loved about her, but now it only made her all the less obtainable.

Three hours later, Lucca called to Frog, "It's finished! Now we plant it near the cave, and head back to my time to pick it up again. Frog, I'll need you to point out where I should leave it. Come on, let's go." She slipped the device into her bag with the rest of her possessions, checked over her shoulder to see that she was being followed, and set off up the mountain trail. In a few hours, the beacon was firmly attached to a large, stable rock, and in four hundred years, Epoch landed again in the mountain's foothills.

Frog and Lucca led the way up the mountain, Lucca navigating while Frog cleared brush with his sword. Magus trailed silently behind. Considering that the mountain itself had changed shape, the going was considerably slower, but by that evening, Lucca had retrieved her transponder and placed it in her bag. "Well," she said, "I don't see any ghosts."

"A pity," said Frog, "but let us not give up hope. The spirits may not walk until after nightfall."

They waited, but no spirits appeared. "We'd better make camp at this point," said Lucca. "It looks as if we're staying the night. Frog - (yawn!) - can you find some firewood for us?"

"Aye," said Frog, and he set out to find some. He returned shortly with several dry branches, and Lucca lit a fire. A simple supper was had, then Frog and Lucca set out bedrolls (with his unnerving habit of hovering two feet above the ground in his sleep, Magus needed none), Frog doused the fire, and they all went to sleep.

All except Magus.

Magus feigned sleep until he heard Lucca's soft snores from the base of the tree where she lay. Silently, he alighted on the ground near Frog and glanced over his shoulder. Lucca was fast asleep. Good. He nudged Frog with his foot.

"Amphibian," Magus whispered over Frog's sleeping form. There was no response. Sighing, he tried again. "Amphibian!"

Still no response. "Frog?" he tried. Nothing. He gritted his teeth. "Glenn!"

Even Frog's true name brought about nothing more than a sleepy murmur. It was time to break out the heavy artillery. Leaning over Frog's sleeping form, Magus whispered in Frog's tympanum, "Sir Froggy!"

Nothing could have prepared Magus for what happened next: with a soft cry of "Cyrus!" Frog sprang from his bedroll and threw his arms around Magus's shoulders. Magus was stunned for a moment, then asked in a coldly polite tone, "Please let go of me."

At the sound of Magus's voice, Frog let go as if he'd been burned. "Thou hast no right to use that name!" he rebuked Magus, groping in the dark for his sword. "What is thy reason for such deception?"

"Now, Amphibian, how could I have possibly known you were dreaming about him?" Magus asked, not expecting an answer.

"Never mind that!" said Frog hastily. "The name you used was Sir Cyrus's for me, and thou'rt a villain to defile it! 'Twas a bad enough thing to use it as an insult at thy castle, and now!" Frog's hand found the Masamune and prepared to draw it. "It hast been twisted from an endearment to a mock, and by _your hand,_ Magus!"

"Well, how did you _expect_ me to get you awake? I tried all the other things you've been called."

"What is it you want of me?" Frog asked, his eyes hard.

Magus sighed. "I..." He shook his head. _Just say it_, he ordered himself. "I... I need... your help."

As nothing could have prepared Magus for Frog's embrace, nothing could have prepared Frog for Magus's request. "Pardon?" he asked, not sure he'd heard properly.

"Good. You heard me. Can't we just once forget what happened? You're the only one who can help me with this." Once he'd gotten the preliminary sentence out, Magus found his request much easier. Still, it felt far too much like begging for his liking... but at this point, he'd do almost anything.

Frog gave a small croaking sound. "Absolutely not," he declared, putting down his sword.

"I haven't even told you what it is!"

"Nevertheless, it cannot be anything to which I could agree. Good-night." Frog lay back down and pulled his blankets over himself.

"Frog!"

"I said _good-night!_"

"Quiet! You'll wake her!" Magus jerked his head briefly in the direction of Lucca's bedroll.

That sparked Frog's attention. "And what hast this to do with Miss Lucca?" he asked dubiously, sitting up again.

Magus sighed heavily again. "She's... angry with me," he finally managed to say. "I don't know how to... redeem myself, in her eyes. And you're the best person to show me how."

In Frog's eyes, Magus's words were becoming stranger and stranger. "What... what?" he asked, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"Promise not to tell."

Frog would have raised an eyebrow if he'd had any. "What is it?"

"I won't tell you what it is unless you swear you won't share it with anyone."

"On my honor as a knight, I give my word. What is it?"

Magus swallowed hard. "I..." he began. "I... I think I'm falling in love with her."

Frog made a sound halfway between a choke and a laugh. "Thou'rt... thou'rt _what?_ Oh, pish tush, tell me another, O Great Magus. And then, pray, tell me why I should even consider helping thee in such matters after what thou didst to _me_." Frog's finishing words were nothing short of icy. He lay back down again, and pulled his blanket over his head.

"Frog..."

There was no response.

"Frog!" Magus continued, nonetheless. "Frog, no matter what you think, _I am not a murderer_. Yes, I admit I did behave as one before that fat lout Ozzie, but only so he wouldn't throw me out on my ear. I needed Ozzie's resources in my own quest, do you hear? I don't _like_ killing, you understand?"

"A feeble excuse. I will give it to thee that thou struck down Sir Cyrus in thine own defense -" there was a slight sob in his voice "- but what of the form thou gavest me? It is a mockery of... of...!" Frog took a deep breath. There was no way he would shed a tear before Magus.

"Frog," Magus continued. "Of all the bodies I could have given you, my choice of that one was what I thought least painful on your part."

"Least painful!"

"You heard me. Frog, I knew you loved Cyrus -"

"What? How... how...?" Frog's hand shook as he searched again for his sword.

"Frog! Calm! I don't want her to wake up!" Magus hushed him. "Frog, will you _listen_ to me _just once_ without drawing a sword? I scried on the two of you often, because you were my greatest threat. You already knew I knew he called you Sir Froggy for your green hair," _(Gods, how long ago was that? Twelve years for me? Thirteen?)_ "and I'd seen the way you looked at him when he said it. If you think I have a problem with that... well, it's nothing I haven't seen before. I come from Zeal Kingdom. Men slept with other men all the time, and frankly, your society is foolish to think ill of something so harmless. I thought a body that reminded you of him would be comforting, not painful!" It was true desperation that kept Magus focused on civility, but he was unaccustomed to it. He slipped back into his usual skin. "And that's as close to an apology as you're going to get."

Even with Magus's last comment, Frog was totally dumbfounded. "And that," he finally whispered, "is where thy mistake lies."


	14. Chivalry Lessons

Magus opened his mouth to argue, but then realized he had no proper response. "All right, Amphibian," he finally said. "Tell me what I need to know, and I mean on no uncertain terms. I came to you for help and I intend to get it. You're the closest any of us have to a Prince Charming, and thus, you are my only choice for a teacher."

"To be quite honest, I believe thou'rt beyond my power," Frog scoffed.

"Oh, how very helpful. She hates me, you know. Perhaps I might convince you with a little pain... Sir Froggy?"

"And for good reason!" Frog snapped. "Thy manners are condescending at best, thy words near always biting and cold. There is nary a time when thou'rt not looking down on another. Thou must learn gentle words, respect for thy comrades, and above all, _learn to forgive._"

"Fine words for someone _you've_ never forgiven," said Magus with a sneer.

"Thine tongue is sharper than that of the most shrewish woman," scolded Frog. "Soften thy words."

"Will you stop finding faults?" Magus's mouth curled into a sneer. "Her tongue's as sharp!"

"Thou asked for assistance, and assistance is what I give. Thou'rt far too easily angered." Frog crossed his arms and looked away.

"Would it kill you to find a single redeeming quality?"

"The truth?" said Frog, looking back over his shoulder. He turned away again, and said, "Thou haven't a one."

"Damn it, Amphibian, I wanted _help,_ not insults!" Magus hissed, keeping his voice down so as not to wake Lucca. "Now, you tell me _right now_ what I can do to win her over, all right?" There was a decidedly dangerous note in Magus's voice, and a few blue sparks danced around his right hand.

Frog was slient.

Magus sighed and extinguished his sparks. "...Please?" he finally added.

Frog smiled almost mischievously as he turned around. "Thou'rt learning already."

Magus was baffled as Frog searched through his haversack. Finding what he sought, Frog stood up, and presented Magus with a leather-bound volume. "Read this," he instructed. "It is the Knight's Codex. Hope to the powers that be that the chapters on courtly behavior manage to make an imprint on thee. I shall return to my repose. Observe my actions on the morrow." With no further words, Frog returned to his bedroll, leaving Magus standing alone with the book.

-----------------------------------

Magus woke the next morning to Frog's elbow in his ribs. "Wake up," Frog ordered. "On thy feet, wizard. I haveth more instructions for thee, and I doubt thou wantst me to give them in Miss Lucca's wakeful presence."

Magus opened his eyes just wide enough to glare at Frog. "Prod me again, Amphibian, and it'll be for the last time." It was an empty threat, given his continued need for Frog's instruction. He alighted on the ground. "What do you want?"

Frog glanced over to Lucca, then looked back to Magus. "I have told thee already, soften thy tongue," he admonished. "Now, when she wakes, I shalt demonstrate proper behavior. Learn from it."

Magus gave a gesture of tacit agreement.

"And one more matter," said Frog. "I shan't do this for nothing. Thou must do all I tell thee, else I shall reveal everything before its time."

Magus started to argue, but realized Frog had the upper hand. Reluctantly, he agreed.

Lucca rolled over and grunted. "Where's the food?" she asked, almost before even opening her eyes.

"I shall prepare it anon. Magus, wilt thee find a stack of firewood?"

"What? I'm not your errand-boy! I..."

Frog looked at Magus, then Lucca, then Magus again, as if to say "Aren't you?"

Magus gritted his teeth. _This is almost not worth it,_ he grumbled mentally. _I can't believe I've reduced myself to this._ He sighed. "Gladly," he said through gritted teeth, and stalked off into the woods.

Lucca watched him go, wondering what had just taken place. "How did you do that?" she asked Frog.

"I hath promised that it remain a secret," said Frog cryptically. "Hast thou foodstuffs?"

"Not much," said Lucca, looking through her bag. "I've got some jerky and dried fruit, but - ah, we're in luck. I brought some pressed oats. Can you make oatmeal? No milk, I'm afraid."

"Aye," said Frog, "if we have a pannikin in which to boil it."

"Got that," said Lucca, handing the small aluminum pot to Frog. Frog filled it halfway with conjured water and dumped in the oats.

Magus soon returned from the forest, several logs trailing behind him through the air. "Here's your accursed wood," he said to Frog with a glare, guiding them into a neat stack in the center of the fire pit.

Frog smiled with forced amiability. "I thank thee, sir," he said. "Is there anything else thou wishest to say?"

"Yes. Lucca!" he barked. "Light a fire!"

"Light it yourself," she replied irritably, and returned to packing up her bedroll. "It's not like I can set things on fire any faster than you anyway."

Frog had to jump to reach Magus's ear, but he caught it easily. "Ow!" Magus yelped as Frog's weight bent him almost double.

"Wrong twice at once!" Frog hissed at Magus. "The first mistake was that thou were meant to say 'You're welcome,' and the second was that thou hast offended her again with thy coarse words. Didst thou read at all?"

"Let go of me! Yes, I read. Forgive me, Sir Froggy, for it is _early_, and I am _tired._"

"If thou hast forgotten so quickly, I shall show you how to ask." He let Magus go, and turned. "I must apologize for the wizard," Frog called to Lucca. "Forgive his cross words. He wished thee to light the flames simply because he knows that thy command of fire is finer than his. Miss Lucca, will thee please light the campfire?"

"All right, give me a minute," said Lucca. "Just let me finish packing up and I'll be right there. There - that ought to do it. Hold on a second." Her bedroll packed, Lucca sat on her haunches next to the fire pit and extended a finger. There was a wisp of smoke, then orange flames licked the logs. "There you go," she said to Frog. "Cook away."

When she turned away, Frog gave Magus the smug grin that Magus would get very used to over the next few days.

------------------------------------

"Well, no ghosts," Lucca said dejectedly. Breakfast was over, and the three had set off down the mountainside. "Looks like this little camping trip was a bust. I guess we go about and try to gather information now."

"Maybe we should work on getting down the mountain first?" Magus suggested.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Lucca replied with a withering look. Magus was about to snap out a response when he felt Frog's elbow dig into his ribs. "Laugh," Frog said, too quietly for Lucca to hear. Magus managed a small almost-chuckle at Frog's bidding, then muttered to Frog, "That's what _she_ was supposed to do." Soon, they reached a stream.

"Now, that tree trunk we crossed on has to be around here somewhere," Lucca muttered.

Magus murmured something and closed his eyes. "No it doesn't," he said. "It dislodged during the night and washed over the waterfall down that way."

"And how, pray tell, do you know that?"

"Well, first, I remember it was stuck against that rock over there yesterday afternoon. Second, it was unstable when we crossed it. And third, I just cast a minor divination spell to see where it went. It's down that way. Does that answer your question?"

Lucca swore. "Well, now what?" she asked. "I guess we find some other way down. Come on, this way." She turned and walked upstream. "Maybe we can find a ford."

"Indeed," Frog called after her. "We shall be right behind thee." He turned to Magus. "When we find a crossing," he said quietly, "you offer to carry the lady across. I would myself, but I fear I am too small in stature to carry her on foot, and thee... thou canst fly, hmm? A perfect turn of events if I ever saw one, methinks."

Magus felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. "All... all right," he said, knowing he had no choice in the matter.

About three hundred feet up the stream, the water became shallower and slower. The mud, however, was still deep and slippery. With a mighty spring, Frog cleared the bank and landed waist-deep in the water. He swam across easily. "What art thou waiting for?" he called across to Lucca and Magus as he sat on the opposite bank, emptying water from his boots.

Magus had frozen, the dilemma of whether it was really a good idea to follow Frog's directions just yet. Seeing Frog's glare, he took a deep breath and turned. "M... miss?" he finally asked, holding out his hand to Lucca. Lucca, however, had started walking down the bank, and was testing the water with a hand. With a flick of his wrist, Magus propelled a small pebble in Lucca's direction to get her attention. She failed to notice as it splashed in the water near her hand.

There was nothing for it. _Do it,_ Magus ordered himself. _Do it or he'll ruin everything._ Taking a deep breath, he came behind Lucca and picked her up. "Hold on," he instructed, and flew across the stream, two inches from the water's surface. He set Lucca down next to Frog. Until then, Lucca had been completely dumbstruck. As soon as her feet touched the ground, however, she found her voice.

"What..." she said as the slight flush of pink cleared from her face. She shook her head and turned on Magus. "What is the idea, _Ass?_ You gave me no warning, you very nearly touched my chest, you DID touch my legs... let me tell you, if I ever wanted to be swept off my feet, it sure as hell wouldn't be by you!"

"Well, how did you expect me to carry you across? I saved you the trouble of wading, and it looked like Frog was actually swimming for a bit there! Neither of us knows how deep that water really is. Would it kill you to show some gratitude?" Magus yelled back.

"I didn't expect it, that's the point! You could have at least asked me! Or, you know, not completely surprised me like that!"

"Excuse me for trying to help! I started to ask you, but _you_ weren't paying attention!"

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault?"

Magus felt the sharp tap of Frog's boot against his leg. _"And that... is where thy mistake lies,"_ he recalled. Frog was right. He sighed and bit his lip, frowning. "I'm... sorry," he finally managed to sincerely say. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Frog smiled.


	15. Make It Janus

Nothing in the world could have prepared Lucca for Magus's apology. Certainly, he had uttered the words "I'm sorry" before, but only in a snappish tone accompanied by a caustic glare - never with apparent sincerity and downcast eyes, as he did now. She stood staring at him, mouth agape, for several seconds. Finally, she found her voice. "You're _what?_" she asked incredulously.

Magus looked up, sighing heavily. "You heard me," he said, a note of minor annoyance creeping into his voice. "I'm sorry. I said it, and I meant it. It would be nice if you would believe me."

"Are you feeling all right?" Lucca asked, still in disbelief. "You know, all morning, you've been acting really weird. First you let Frog, of all people, order you around, now this... come to think of it, Frog's been acting really weird, too. Didn't he actually come to your defense before breakfast?" Lucca turned to her friend. "Frog, what is going on?"

Frog's honor spurred him to quick thinking. "I have decided it is my duty to redeem this man," he said, carefully avoiding a lie. "The Magus, loathsome as he may be, is our ally, and, I admit, a valuable one. As it does us no service to fight amongst ourselves, I am instructing him on how to be more agreeable, and how to discard his wicked ways."

Lucca furrowed her brow. "Uh-huh," she responded. "Well, that's as good an explanation as any, even if there is a huge hole in it." She raised her eyebrows. "How did you get him to agree to this... training?"

"Blackmail," said Magus, not entirely lying himself.

Lucca couldn't believe her ears. "Blackmail? _Frog?_ No, that's ridiculous. What is it really?"

"I stand by my statement of blackmail," said Magus. "He quite literally threatened to reveal things about me that would prove quite ruinous to my intentions."

"All right, I won't ask," said Lucca, clearly still wondering what in the world was going on. "Well, I guess we're across now, and we can get down the mountain without further... oddity."

For the rest of the trip down the mountain, Lucca couldn't help but cast baffled glances at her two companions and wonder whether the whole world hadn't gone mad.

She climbed into Epoch's pilot seat when they reached the foot of the mountain. "And now, to the research," she said. "There must be something in the royal library, some record of a haunting somewhere. Or at least something about where Cyrus was buried." She set her course for Guardia Castle, and touched down outside the forest twenty minutes later.

"They're with me," Lucca explained to the soldiers, who recognized her as a friend of Princess Nadia. "Could you direct us to the library?"

"Up the stairs and down the hallway past the Princess's chamber," said one guard. "You'll need an escort. The guards' quarters are -"

"Near the old prison tower," Lucca finished. "I've been there. I had to... clear up a misunderstanding." It seemed much longer ago than it really was that she had broken Crono out of prison. Of course, part of that was due to their constant time-hopping - while Lucca and her companions had been out doing all manner of things in several time periods, only a little less than a month had passed in her own time.

A few minutes later, Lucca, Frog, and Magus arrived at the royal library, led by their guard, Jek, who let them in. "We're looking for records of recent hauntings, anywhere in the world," Lucca told the librarian. "Anything, really. Even campfire ghost stories could be a possible lead."

The librarian pushed his glasses up his nose and whiffled his moustache as he perused Magus, then Frog. "Of... of course," he said. "Certainly. This way, please. I ask that you not remove the books from this room." Lucca followed the gangly man toward the back of the library.

Magus tried to follow, but halted abruptly when he felt a sharp tug on his cape: Frog. "What is it now?" he whispered irritably as Lucca disappeared behind a bookshelf.

"The volume we seek may well be out of the lady's reach," Frog whispered back. "Should that be so... thou'rt the tallest, so it is thy duty to reach it for her. And I remind thee to be pleasant."

Magus sighed. "If this were any other person, it wouldn't be worth it," he complained, and followed Lucca to the back of the library.

"Er, you may find what you seek here," the librarian told Lucca. "It is rare that we have people serious about the, er, paranormal coming to look. Er, are you looking for a, er, a specific ghost?" His glasses had slid down his nose again, and he pushed them back up with a finger.

"Yes, actually," Lucca replied. "I take it you know of Sir Cyrus? The hero who went up the Mount Denadoro and was never seen again?"

"Oh! Er, yes, that will be an old tale," the librarian said. Lucca glanced over his shoulder: Magus and Frog had just rounded the corner and found them. "Sir Cyrus... yes, that will be on the top shelf. That large, green one. Shall I, er, go and fetch you a ladder?"

"Er, no," Lucca replied, and mentally slapped herself for temporarily adopting the librarian's manner of speech. "I mean, no. I think I can reach it."

The librarian smiled, nodded, and pushed his spectacles up his nose before turning to leave. "Happy ghost hunting," he said as he walked off.

Lucca stretched to reach the dusty volume, but was just a few centimeters short. "Hmm," she said, bit her lower lip, and prepared to jump for it. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up.

"Don't trouble yourself," Magus told her. "I'll get it." He reached the book easily, held it face-up in both hands, briefly turned away to blow off the dust, and held it out to Lucca. "Here," he said, and remembered to smile.

Lucca took the book and looked at Magus, her eyes showing something like confusion. Briefly, their hands touched. "Thank... you," she said.

"Don't mention it," Magus responded, turning and walking toward a carrel. "You would have knocked something over jumping for it, anyway."

There was a soft, slightly-damp smacking noise as Frog's hand met his forehead.

----------------------------------

"Choras!" Lucca exclaimed, nearly tearing the page as she jammed her finger into it.

"Pardon?"

"What?"

"Choras! That's where we look!" Lucca explained, looking up triumphantly at one curious and one half-bland face. "This is the journal of one member of the search party sent out to find Cyrus. Listen to this!" She looked back at the book and read aloud. "_This broken sword I hath found smelt faintly of ash. A further search of the area revealed the desiccated bones of a hand._"

"The hand that the Magus clove from Cyrus's very arm! I witnessed it myself!"

"There's more," Lucca continued. "_The bones I brought back to Guardia Castle. These bones may be all that remain of Sir Cyrus. They lie buried now on the island of Choras, from whence he hailed._" She slammed the book shut. "We found his grave, people. This is our next big lead!" Leaving the volume on the desk, Lucca grabbed Frog's wrist and dashed out of the library, Magus close behind.

The flight to Choras was long enough to take them into evening before Lucca landed Epoch just outside town. She pushed open the door to the local tavern and inn and sat down in the nearest empty seat as Magus and Frog dispersed to different parts of the bar. Lucca leaned over the counter. "Cider, please," she told the bartender, and turned her head as she felt someone poke her left shoulder. It was a shifty-looking young woman with short-cropped, red-blonde hair and a green tunic. "What?" Lucca asked.

"Heard about the ghost?" the woman asked.

_Bingo,_ Lucca thought. "What can you tell me?" she asked, turning on her stool to face her.

"Just that a ghost knight roams the northern ruins," she said. "Or so they say. Ha! Isn't that a trip?"

"That's the ghost we're looking for!" said Lucca. "Where are the ruins? Are they dangerous?"

"I'm not about to go there and find out for myself," said the woman, tossing her head and looking down her nose at Lucca. "If you're dumb enough to go there and look, then beat it."

"Fine," Lucca muttered as she paid her tab. "Frog! M! Hear anything?"

"Not a single thing of import," Frog answered, defeated. Lucca turned to Magus.

"I will not buy your merchandise!" Magus explained for the fifth time to the young man who had pulled him aside. "I need none of that snake oil you've showed me - none of it! Get that through your thick head, man!" He turned to Lucca. "Let's just go," he said, scowling at the world.

"Well," Lucca said as she shut the door behind them, "I heard something about a ghost, but didn't hear much more than the fact that there is one. We're not much closer than before. Something about ruins to the north, but the girl who said it wouldn't give me directions."

Magus looked thoughtful. "Perhaps an authority figure might know something of import," he mused. "Also, Grease Monkey... I ask that you never call me 'M' again."

"Well, what did you expect me to call you? I can't just go about trumpeting your title to everyone. In this time period, I'd be a laughingstock, and four hundred years ago I'd be burnt at the stake."

"Point noted and taken. But think of something else to call me."

"You would prefer Ass, maybe?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation?"

"Yes. We never agreed on anything."

Magus sighed - Lucca was right. He looked off at the horizon. "Make it Janus, then," he said quietly.


	16. Tortured Spirits

Lucca bit her lip. "Something about that seems... awkward," she said, looking at the grass. "I don't know. It's just that... well..." She trailed off.

"What?" Magus asked irritably. "It's my name, isn't it? Can you think of anything better?"

"Well... you want the truth..." She took a deep breath and grimaced. "When I think of the name 'Janus,' I get a mental image of a whiny ten-year-old with no friends but his cat and his sister. Please don't hurt me!" she said quickly at the end.

Magus opened his mouth to give Lucca a piece of his mind and felt Frog's elbow. He stopped and furrowed his brow. "Actually..." he said thoughtfully, "you're right." He gave a mirthless half-smile. "I spent two years in my own time before you arrived with your meddling - Stop it, Amphibian! - and I must admit, now that I've met myself face-to-face, I was quite intolerable as a child."

"Damn straight," Lucca replied smugly.

"Don't push it, Grease Monkey," Magus said in a low voice. "Do you have a better idea for an appellation?"

"Blue-Haired One?"

"Janus it is, then," said Magus. "At least in public. Now, what did you find out about the ghost? All I found was an annoying merchant and a drunken carpenter."

"That there is one," Lucca replied. "Except for 'somewhere north of here' I don't know where, and I don't know for certain whose. The woman who told me was kind of a bitch, too. She wouldn't answer any of my questions."

"Perhaps, then, 'twas best to leave the lady alone," Frog mused.

"Lady! Hah! More like 'strumpet' if you ask me," Lucca said with a distasteful expression. "Anyway, Magus's idea was good. Let's find the mayor."

"I thought you were going to call me Janus.

"_I_ thought I only had to do that when there were other people around."

"Fair enough, I suppose," said Magus with a shrug. And with that, they set their minds on finding someone to ask.

The mayor's manor was quite easy to find at the northeast corner of the town. Lucca knocked on the door, and soon afterwards, it was answered by the mayor's maid, a red-haired woman in a yellow dress and white apron. "We're here to see the mayor," Lucca said to her. "If he's not busy, may we come in?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said the maid. "I'll show you to the sitting room."

The mayor was an elderly man who kept a walking stick close at hand as he sat on the sofa. "Now then," he said, squinting at Lucca, "what might I be able to do for you, miss?"

"We're looking for a ghost," Lucca replied. "We heard he might be on this island. Do you know anything?"

"What? Oh, the ghosts! Yes, there is an old structure to the north," he began. "It's been in ruins for ages. Some kind of a tomb, we think."

"They say some brain-dead ghost hangs out in the ruins to the north," added a violet-haired woman of middle years Lucca took to be the mayor's daughter. She sat at a table with a friend, sipping tea.

"Scary!" said the friend, nodding agreement with an excited smile. "Spirits, still attached to the real world, live in places like that," she explained.

An old woman who was probably the mayor's wife came down the stairs, leaning heavily on the banister. "Ghost hunters, eh?" she asked. "The anguish of tormented spirits has created a negative energy that surrounds the ruins."

"Sounds like the place we're looking for. Where are these ruins?" Lucca asked.

The maid looked up from the dishes she was washing in the next room. "There's an old path leading up there just behind this house," she called. "But I'd stay away from the ruins. The structural damage is severe."

Lucca smiled. "Thank you!" she said to all of the people who had helped her. "Don't worry about us - we've been through our fair share of scrapes. A decaying ruin won't pose much danger to us." She patted Frog and Magus on their shoulders. "Come on, let's go," she said. "The sun's setting. I bet we make it by nightfall if we go now." She looked back through the door as she ushered her two companions outside, calling back, "Thanks again!"

----------------------------------

The ruins were indeed in a sorry state of disrepair. Gaping holes showed in the floor in numerous locations, the wooden doors were almost completely rotted away, and patches of green slime, probably living, inhabited the walls and floor. The eerie effect was enhanced by the wall torches, which burned with a thin, steady blue flame that seemed to need no fuel. Lucca whistled softly as she surveyed her surroundings. "Ghost city," she declared. "Come on, let's go."

Frog led the way, sword drawn, down a corridor going west, which had a slight downward slope. Lucca kept her gun out as she followed him, and Magus floated backward behind them as a rear guard. The moldy carpet they walked on soon decayed into nothing. Frog made for a curtain of hanging moss to push it aside, but Lucca stopped him. "Frog..." she whispered in his tympanum, her voice a near squeak. "Frog, _look!_"

Frog turned his head to follow Lucca's pointed finger. There, standing on its own at the top of a stairwell, was a battered, empty suit of armor big enough for an Omnicrone. "We must pass," Frog whispered back. He readied his sword and approached the armor.

The ghost, however, fixed the face-opening of its empty helmet on Magus and raised its sword with a roar. Batting Frog aside with an easy backhand, it pointed with one of its gauntlets at Magus. "Look out!" Lucca yelled reflexively as Magus dodged the pale wisps of white that sprang at him from the ghost's outstretched finger. Magus retaliated with a burst of dark lightning, which dissipated harmlessly against the metal of the ghost's cuirass. He gritted his teeth and tried again, throwing a wave of fire at the ghost, but the ghost's sword cut through the flames. Magus gave a sharp hiss as he sidestepped the ghost's sword, and channeling a dancing orb of lightning, thrust his hand against the ghost's shoulder. There was a loud crack as Magus's spell sent him flying backwards, and the ghost continued advancing as if nothing had happened.

Wild-eyed, Magus summoned the last of his arsenal. Icy wind swept through his hair as he conjured a miniature glacier to trap the ghost. It held for a moment, then cracked and shattered.

Lucca cursed in dismay as she saw the ghost emerge, and quickly fired off a blast from her gun, but the orb of quasi-magical energy vanished before it got within six inches of her target. "Frog!" she shrilled, her eyes wide. "Your sword! Help!"

Frog gritted his teeth and charged the ghost, swinging his weapon. It passed through the ghost's tattered cape as if it weren't there and skipped off the surface of the ghost's armor with a harmless ping. Frog jumped back. "My sword hath no effect!" he shouted in near-panic.

Slowly, the ghost turned toward Frog. "...len..." it said, its pale sword still raised.

Frog gasped at the voice. "Cyrus!" he exclaimed at the ghost, eyes even wider than normal. "'Tis me, Glenn!"

"...Wh... what" said the ghost flatly. "G...l...e...n...n?" It slowly turned its helmet from Frog to Magus, then quickly back to Frog. With a roar of anguish, it sprang at Frog, sword first.

"Run!" Lucca yelled, grabbing Frog by the cape and pulling him away as the ghost's sword slashed down exactly where Frog had stood a second before. She, Frog, and Magus fled the ruins as quickly as they could.

"You!" Frog shouted, whirling on Magus once they were outside. "Thou hast by thy very presence turned Cyrus against me! I can never keep my promise to him now he regards me as the enemy! His grave shall remain forever unhonored because of _thee_. Draw thy weapon, Magus - thou'rt my ally no more!" The point of Frog's sword hovered half an inch from Magus's throat.

"So be it, Amphibian," Magus said, as his scythe appeared in his hand. "I meant no harm in coming with you, and I suppose I will seek help from another -"

"Stop!" Lucca shouted, shoving the would-be combatants away from each other. "Frog! Magus! Stop! It's not ruined! Damn it, _put those weapons away_, both of you!" She glared at both of them. "Yes, it's ruined in _my time_, Frog. But we have another chance. Four hundred years ago, Cyrus is still dead. We can go back, Frog. Put the sword away, damn it! You can honor his grave then! And Magus..." she said, turning, fists akimbo. "Magus, in order to prevent any more mishaps, you stay well behind us, in the shadows, so nothing sees you and gets the wrong idea. Got that?"

Magus's scythe vanished again, with a few wisps of gray smoke. "Agreed," he said.

"And you, Frog?"

Frog sighed heavily as he finally sheathed his sword. "Agreed."

They walked back to town in silence.


	17. Carpenters

_Credit goes to Wizards of the Coast for Lucca's quote._

Lucca and her two companions made a quick hop four hundred years into the past the next morning, and landed Epoch on the southern outskirts of the medieval town of Choras amid a grove of trees. It was already evening when they arrived, so Lucca led Frog and Magus northward through the town, past a café, a carpenter's shop, and an inn to the edge of the forest on the northern part of the island. The path that had been there in Lucca's time had not yet been cleared in Frog's. Lucca swore, irritated.

"First an angry ghost," said Lucca, glaring at Magus, "and now all this underbrush is too thick to walk through! I recall a quotation of which I am fond." She furrowed her brow and produced a small flame above her right hand. "'Of course you should fight fire with fire! You should fight _everything_ with fire!' And if this isn't a job for a little fire, I don't know what is."

Magus nodded. "I'm game," he said. "That's the... best idea you've had today." He had amended his words from 'first good idea.'

"Prithee, let us not start forest fires," said Frog, grabbing Lucca's leather harness and Magus's cape.

"You have a better idea?" Lucca raised an eyebrow.

"I should think it obvious," said Frog. "Sword and scythe. Unless this vegetation art of unnatural toughness, good steel shall suffice to get us past."

Lucca extinguished her flames. "I suppose you're right," she sighed. "I guess I've just always liked burning things."

"A perfectly reasonable hobby," Magus commented, and Frog refrained from kicking him. The little green man satisfied himself with rolled eyes.

-------------------------------------

The ruins looked little different from their future version once Lucca, Magus, and Frog arrived. The torches still burned blue in their wall sconces. The musty carpets on the floors still were tattered and the walls were still damp with mold, though they only showed ten years of neglect rather than four hundred and ten. "You stay in the shadows and watch our backs," Lucca instructed Magus. "Come on, Frog. Let's find your ghost."

The stairway that Cyrus's angry spirit had guarded in Lucca's time was empty now. "Odd," Lucca mused. "Let's go deeper. Cyrus probably isn't as impatient now as he was... then? That doesn't seem like the right word. I mean, 'then' was in the future, and the word 'then' is usually used to describe the past..."

"Let us not argue the semantics of time travel," Magus sighed, then stopped, alert. "Hsst! Stop. Look." He pointed down off of the balcony as his scythe materialized in his other hand. Lucca followed his finger. "Minor spirits," Magus informed her. "Probably here to guard this place."

"Yeah, against you."

Magus's eyebrow twitched. "And if that is the case, then they probably already know I'm here. Either way, they're blocking the way we need to go, and these ones should certainly not be anywhere near the level of Cyrus's ghost. We fight."

"Aye, that may indeed be our best course of action," Frog agreed as he surveyed the misty pair of warrior ghosts. He drew his sword.

"There won't be any need for that," Magus informed him. "These spirits are incorporeal - your sword would go right through them. Hit the little annoyances with whatever magic you've got."

"Roger," Lucca agreed, summoning a small flame. "Shall we?"

"No use sneaking," Magus commented, and with a graceful leap from the balcony, fired a blast of shadow at one Sentry as Frog hit the other with a gout of high-pressure water. It was a bad time for Lucca to be momentarily distracted, but fortunately, no ill came of her sudden fascination with the way Magus's hair trailed behind him as he flew through the air -

_Guard up,_ Lucca told herself, returning that part of her to its repressed state. Tucking and rolling, she jumped down the stairs and threw one of her bombs right between the two spirits. Both Sentries were engulfed in flame as Lucca's napalm splattered everywhere within ten feet, and with a few wispy, white parting shots, vanished. _Nothing can beat science,_ Lucca thought smugly to herself as the flames died down. Again, her eyes crept to Magus. She shook her head and forced herself to lead on.

A short distance down the corridor, a short stairway led up to a landing. Two more Sentries fell easily to Magus's and Lucca's fire, and Lucca climbed the slippery stairs, leaning heavily on the banister. A door stood on the other side of the landing, and Lucca went to open it. She got less than two feet before she felt Magus's hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. "Wait," he said, and pointed. A gaping hole in the floor blocked their passage.

"Damn," said Lucca. "Well, can you fly us across?"

"The ceiling's too low up here, and there's not enough of a landing on the other side," said Magus. "So, no."

Lucca swore loudly and severely. "All this way for nothing!" she shouted. "Let me tell you, though, I WILL find a way across that pit... I just have to think... give me a minute..."

"We could try to find a person to repair it," Magus suggested blandly. "Remember the drunken carpenter I mentioned in your time? He wouldn't stop going on about how his family had been carpenters for six hundred years, and they'd lived on Choras even longer. I believe a visit to the town is in order, as soon as we clear out these ghosts."

"You're no fun," Lucca grumbled, slightly miffed that she had been robbed of a brilliant plan. "Come on." A few Sentries later, they left the ruins of Cyrus's tomb.

"Wait," said Lucca as Magus started toward the town. "Hood," she said. "You still have your Prophet's hood, right? Put it on."

"What? Why?" Magus asked, turning. "A hooded and cloaked stranger probably wouldn't be welcome around town, especially since the war with Ozzie has only just ended -"

"Oh, Dearest Magus," Lucca said in a half-mocking tone. "You think, somehow, that an uncloaked, unhooded _you_ would be better received?" she asked, narrowing her eyes and placing her hands on her hips. "Not long before the war was with Ozzie, might I remind you, it was the Magus that the Knights of the Square Table were fighting."

Magus grumbled an unintelligible reply. At Lucca's raised eyebrow, he made a face and explained, "It ruins my hair."

"Have you suddenly turned into a _woman?_ Honestly, Magus, even I don't care what my hair looks like! Wear the damn hood!"

"Well, excuse me for not fitting exactly into your little gender stereotypes!" Magus shot back. "It's impossible to brush once it's tangled, what with its being this long and all -"

"If you were really all that worried about your time instead of your appearance, you'd cut it!" Lucca replied, squashing the thought that she really didn't want him to.

"I most certainly will not!" Magus shot back. "And pardon my not knowing how to impress _your_ gender - beyond having massive power, that is. The only women I've ever had extended dealings with were relatives, your two blonde friends, and you!"

"Well, what about Flea?"

"Flea doesn't count!"

"Oh, so may be YOU can tell me whether Flea has a -"

"How in the name of arcana should _I_ know _that?_ You should have asked Slash when you had a chance; he's shared a room with that... _person_ enough times I could figure out what was going on!"

"As if I had a chance to sit down and chat with him before he started whaling on us. Just put the stupid hood on!" Lucca sighed. "I didn't come here to argue Flea's gender."

"I told you, I don't want to!"

"Just wear thy hood, Magus!" Frog barked, his eyelid twitching. Unfortunately, his tutelage had not yet covered what to do in an argument. Sidling closer, he hissed, "A good rule of thumb is to let the lady have her way."

Magus scowled. "Fine," he spat. "I will wear the hood. And you - Ow!" He was cut off as Frog stamped down hard on his toe.

Sure enough, there was a carpenter's shop near the center of town, but a note on the door told Lucca that the owner was not in, and that he could be found at the local tavern. "Wonderful," said Magus. "Another drunken carpenter."

"We don't know that yet," Lucca said. "I'll be right back. I'm sure I can find him."

Several minutes of tedious chivalry lessons later, Lucca returned, a tired scowl on her face. "His tools have been stolen," she said, her tone indicating that she was at the end of her rope and dangerously close to setting her own hair on fire. "And he can't work without them. I'm sorry, I should pity him more. He says he's fallen on hard times and can't afford anything that doesn't fall apart. If that's true, then how does he get all that money for beer, that's what I want to know! Where the hell are we going to find carpentry tools?"

"Why, another carpenter, of course," said Frog matter-of-factly. "Perchance a visit to yon drunken carpenter of Lucca's time shall reward us?"

"That works," Lucca agreed. "Come on." As she led the way back to Epoch, she mused, "'The Drunken Carpenter' would be a great name for a tavern..."

------------------------------------

As Lucca pushed open the door to Choras Tavern and Inn, she was immediately greeted by a shout of "Hey, bring some more ale!" from a muscular man at the bar. She turned to Magus. "Him?" she asked. Magus nodded.

"Sir, I think you've had enough alcohol today," the bartender informed the man, and refused to give him another tankard when the man replied "Pipe down! I'll tell you when I've had enough! Can't you see I can hold my liquor?"

"Um, sir? You're a carpenter, right? I need to borrow your tools," Lucca asked the man, who turned to her, a surprised look on his face.

"You wanna borrow my tools?" the carpenter asked, with a drunken leer he believed was a winning smile. "Cute girl like you could -"

"That isn't what I meant! Do you even think I would consider a man who must be about as old as my dad?" Lucca cut him off, ignoring the voice in her head that said yes, she would, if he had waist-length blue hair and impressive magical ability. "I said what I meant, and I meant what I said without anything implied. Are you going to lend me a hammer and saw, and all the rest of your _carpentry implements_ -" she emphasized the words "- or not?"

"Ooh, a feisty chick! I like that, missie..."

Lucca's mouth twitched. "Fine! Forget dealing with ME! M - er, Janus? You take care of this." She turned back to the carpenter with a snarl. "And I'm not cute," she informed him before stepping back to allow Magus full access to the man.

Magus strode up to the man with a toothy grin that was obviously an act. "Hammer, saw, chisel, level, and whatever else you use for your work. Now."

The carpenter let fly a startled curse at the sight of Magus's imposing visage. "Ah... well, be my guest!" he said. "I'm busy here, so go get them from my wife..."

"Tell me where I can find her."

"That shrew? She'll be at home." Had the carpenter not been inebriated, his better judgment would have prevented him telling Magus where he lived, but instead, Magus soon found out that he lived in almost precisely the same spot that his ancestor had made his shop. Magus thanked the man with obviously-false pleasantry and left the tavern, Lucca and Frog following. Four hundred earlier, the tools were soon put to work after Lucca paid the hopefully much-more-reliable carpenter of that time.

-------------------------------

Once the job was finished, Lucca strode across the repaired floor to open the door. Past it was a large, torch-lit room, where a short flight of stairs led to a stone tablet in the middle of the floor: Cyrus's headstone. "Hood on, Magus," Lucca whispered as Frog approached the headstone and laid his hand against it, head bowed. Magus fastened the hood.

"Cyrus," Frog said gravely. "I hath returned." He bit his lower lip, fighting back tears. "I shall honor my promise to thee!"

As Frog drew the Masamune and made a warrior's salute, the room began to fill with a blue light. A misty shape rose from the headstone. Aside from the faded colors, Cyrus looked exactly as he did in life. He was smiling at Frog as if he could see Glenn underneath the green, amphibian skin. "Cyrus..." Frog whispered.

"Glenn..." the ghost whispered back. "Thank you... for making the journey here."

Frog's knees gave out, and he sank to the floor as a tear rolled down his cheek. "Dear Cyrus..." he said hoarsely. "Thou must... think ill of me."

The ghost smiled. "On the contrary! You have come far, my friend. When Magus defeated me, I thought of all those whom I had left behind." Cyrus's voice dropped in volume. "King Guardia, Queen Leene, and of course, you..."

Frog stood up again. "Cyrus..."

Cyrus continued. "Your skill and dedication is superior! I can rest now, knowing that everyone is in good hands." He gave a last, small smile. "Good bye, my friend."

Frog jumped. "Cyrus, wait! I... I!" He choked on his words.

But the ghost had already begun to fade. Before Frog could even finish his sentence, Cyrus had faded from view. "The queen..." said the weakening voice of Cyrus. "Look after Queen Leene. Alas, and... farewell... G...l...e...n...n..."

The tears Frog had held back suddenly flooded from his eyes as he threw himself at the headstone with an anguished howl of Cyrus's name. He held the headstone as if it were his friend. "I'm so sorry, Cyrus..." he sobbed, then stopped in surprise as he felt the Masamune's grip vibrate in his hand. Baffled, he held the sword aloft. "The Masamune?"

There were two bright flashes of white light, and the sword rose into the air. There was a small chuckling noise from its direction as it started to glow. Lucca squinted at the brightness of the sword, and Magus recoiled back into his cape. "That's it!" said a somewhat familiar voice that neither Lucca, Frog, nor Magus could place, and the sword split into two glowing, humanoid shapes. The glow faded until it was no longer blinding, revealing two yellow-skinned creatures in white smocks, one with a purple neckband, the other with green. "That was special!" said Mune.

"Quite!" agreed Masa. "I guess it means that a hero's power comes from within!"

"Mucho metaphysical, man."

"Like... MIND over matter, Mune!"

Frog blinked at the strange words of the two wind spirits. "My... mind?"

Mune nodded smugly. "And your heart definitely had something to do with it," he said to Frog, then turned to Masa. "Now, for a yummy, full-on test!"

"It's thrashin' time!" Masa agreed, and the two extended the palms of their hands toward each other. The room filled with a light so bright that nothing could be seen except the sword hanging in midair, turning end-over-end. As the light faded, the Masamune descended into Frog's hand.

Frog held it in both hands, facing Lucca and Magus. "'Tis flowing with strength and vigor," he remarked, and gave it several practice swings. The sword hummed through the air almost musically, and Frog brought it to a halt in front of his face. "Ahh! 'Tis the true identity of the Masamune!" he realized, and brought it to rest by his side. He turned to Cyrus's grave. "Cyrus, I promise to fulfill thy wishes!" he told the headstone. He gave a second warrior's salute, and this time smiled as he felt Cyrus's familiar presence within the sword. "'Tis a sad farewell!" He turned, returning the Masamune to its scabbard. "Onward, all!"

As Frog leaped ahead of them toward the exit to the ruins, Lucca tugged Magus's cape. "Okay," she said to him. "Now I see it."


	18. To Protect

Late afternoon had faded into evening once the party of three arrived back at Choras proper, and dinner had been eaten. "One single room and one double room, adjoining if you can manage it," the hooded Magus told the clerk at the inn. He turned to Lucca. "After all, why spend extra money?"

Lucca's face took on an indescribable expression. "M - Janus, are you _mad?_" she asked. "Over the course of our adventuring, we've probably accumulated enough money to buy and sell all of - and I don't care who Frog likes, he's still male and I'm not sharing a room with him!"

"I have other reasons," Magus replied cryptically. "Besides, you're getting the single."

Lucca nearly burst out laughing. "Oh... oh dear..." She shook in silent mirth. "M... Janus... I... do you really think... I mean, you have been acting awfully chummy with him lately, but right after his reunion with Cyrus... oh no..."

"Get to the point."

"Er... haha... well..." Lucca took a deep breath. "Do you honestly think you have a snowball's chance in Hell? Besides, you're twice his height..."

Magus sighed. "I suppose I'll mark down a second time you've wrongfully questioned my preferences," he said, rubbing his temples. "Even if I did feel anything for that amphibian other than annoyance and reluctant alliance, I'm fully aware of my... lack of chance. But you raise a valid point, which is this." Magus turned to the clerk and said, "Make sure there are two single beds in the double room, not one double bed." To Lucca, he added, "You have an incurably dirty mind."

The clerk looked through the registry. "Well, all of our single rooms are filled up - we could give you a room with two single beds and a room with a double bed," she offered.

"Fine. Are you going to show us where they are, or just stand there?" Magus asked irritably.

"Of course, sir. Follow me," the clerk said stiffly, stepping out from behind the registration desk and walking toward the stairs.

_Why did I agree to sharing a room as his squire...?_ Magus thought to himself as he followed.

--------------------------------

Since, as Lucca had pointed out, Magus was twice Frog's height, 'abreast' was not quite the proper word to use in describing their walking formation as they followed the clerk to their room. Lucca had already been shown to hers, and had seemed about as satisfied as one who was used to conditions four hundred years more advanced could be with it. The clerk, still annoyed with Magus, pushed open the door to the room adjoining Lucca's. "Yours," she said irritably. The pair of diametric opposites surveyed the room - it met with Frog's satisfaction and Magus's acceptance.

Frog flipped a gold coin to the clerk. "I apologize for mine companion's rudeness," he said.

The woman bit the coin. "Not at all," she said, much more amiably, once she had pocketed it, and closed the door as she left.

Frog turned to Magus. "Now then," he said, adopting a businesslike tone. "Magus, I must admit that the progress thou hast made in nary a week is remarkable. I suppose it might just go to show that when sheer desperation is involved, even thee can become some semblance of a gentleman."

"She seemed angry enough at me during most of our interactions..."

"Force of habit, methinks. Hadst thou not noticed that her requests for thy help now outnumber her requests for mine?" As Magus considered what Frog had said, Frog continued. "Recall that at the royal library, she was entirely ready to jump for that book, rather than ask the assistance of someone... taller than she. I commend thee for the handling of the situation, even considering thy slip in the end. No matter - she did not appear to notice, after all. My belief is that 'twas that exchange what sparked her viewing thee as more than a scythe and a blast of magic."

"So I did something right."

"Yes," said Frog. "And more things right after that, I believe. The issue of thy name was resolved, might I say, wonderfully -"

"Only because you kept elbowing me in the side!"

"Ah," said Frog knowingly. "But I said not a word! Mine physical reminders to thee were nothing but aids to thy memory. Once I had given you the proper nudge, thou were fully capable of conversing without bringing up anger in thyself or the lady. Thou hast even managed a few clumsy compliments to her, which she seems to appreciate. Plus, thy offer to pay for tonight's dinner was fully thine own doing, and a perfectly valid act of gallantry. And might I add," Frog continued as he buttoned his nightshirt, "that she seems to be taking a shine to thee."

"What? How?"

"During our explorations earlier, she asked thy help of her own accord in crossing the pit. Granted, 'twas thee who had pointed it out to her, but she did not recoil from thy touch. And she asked thy assistance again in dealing with the lecherous carpenter. Magus, Lucca hast been treating thee not as a mere ally, but as a friend."

"I didn't notice," Magus muttered, though inwardly the guttering spark of hope inside him began to strengthen. Lucca had been much more amiable toward him since Frog had begun his tutelage. Recalling the carpenter, he scowled. "And that man had no right..."

Frog chuckled. "Another thing," he said. "I noticed her eyes fixed upon thee as thou leaped from the balcony. Indeed, she looked half-breathless. Tell me, hast she ever watched thee so raptly before?"

"You're lying," said Magus, knowing full well that Frog would never utter an untruth. "But she wasn't bad-looking herself, when she was tossing that fire bomb at them to finish them off..." A half-silly, half-misty grin crept across his face.

"Come off it," Frog said, his throat fluttering in a brief laugh. "Thou'rt not holding her hand yet."

"So what do I have to do?"

"Ah, 'tis difficult to say how," said Frog, looking at the ceiling, "but thou must by some means prove thy love. When the opportunity shows itself, confess thy feelings to her. 'Twill cause thee naught but suffering if you do not."

"You're waxing awfully poetic on the subject of women for someone who's never been attracted to one, you know," Magus said dubiously.

Frog just laughed. "And thou thinkest I learned nothing at all whilst living with twenty men?"

"So everything you've been teaching me... you're just parroting the other knights you shared a barracks with?"

Frog sighed. "All but the last," he said quietly. "But the night weareth on, and I wish to retire. Good-night."

"Well," said Magus as he extinguished the oil lamp, "For what it's worth... thank you."

Frog smiled halfway as he thought to himself, _My work is complete._

Magus put on his own nightshirt and went to bed himself, but try as he might, he could not sleep even after hours of lying awake in the air above his bed. At first, he blamed the cold air coming in through the crack under the window, but a thermal illusion spell did nothing to cure his insomnia. Perhaps it was the moonlight - the window had no drapes. However, conjured darkness did as much good (or rather, as little) as the heat he had summoned. Frog's light snoring was magically Silenced, but that didn't help either. It definitely wasn't lumpiness in the bed, since he was, as usual, levitating above it. He didn't want to cast a sleep spell on himself, as he didn't have nearly enough control over nonlethal spells to keep his concentration while being the object of an enchantment. He might not wake for weeks. For a moment, he wished Flea were there. Flea's specialty was curses, especially sleep enchantments - he'd be out like a light in no time.

Finally, he just let his mind wander, in the vain hope that he might drift off. All the time, he had been shoving his thoughts away from Lucca, and he let them return now full force. Despite her imperfect figure, she had been undeniably beautiful earlier, when she had executed her graceful attack on the two Sentries. Magus wondered how valid Frog's words had been as they had prepared for sleep that night - perhaps he had been mistaken when he had said Lucca seemed enraptured? An ogling look would be difficult to mistake, though...

_I wonder what she's dreaming about?_ Magus thought as he listened to her mumblings that were issuing from under the door between their rooms. Come to think of it, they were beginning to take on a slight air of whimpering... Magus released his levitation and sat on his bed. He had clearly heard the word 'No...' He stood up and walked toward the door.

-----------------------------------

"Crono! Crono, no!" Lucca screamed as she sat bolt upright, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She hastily donned her glasses and looked around - a bedroom. It had been no more than a nightmare. Even though Crono was no longer dead, and she knew she was over him, Lucca's subconscious still haunted her with vivid images of the horrible moment when he had been disintegrated at the Ocean Palace. Her head snapped around as she heard the door creak open. Magus.

"What... what?" Lucca asked, not knowing what words to say. If she had expected anyone to push open her door with an expression of concern, drawn by her shriek, she would have thought it would be Frog, not Magus. Nevertheless, it was indeed Magus standing in her doorway, and closer examination revealed that he was indeed wearing an expression of concern.

Magus stepped forward into Lucca's room, and shut the door behind him. "Are you all right?" he asked. Lucca, too shaken to offer a skeptical response, nodded. Magus thought quickly - while the first question was instinctive, and subsequent words would have to be carefully planned so as not to offend Lucca yet again. "What happened?" he asked when he decided on words.

"The Crono dream," Lucca replied, her voice shaking.

"The Crono dream."

"I know he's alive now," Lucca continued, "but I still get dreams sometimes about when he... died." Magus stood unmoving as she kept talking. She looked at his face. "You were there. You remember, right? When he just... turned into ashes and blew away?" A tear rolled down her cheek as Magus walked over to Lucca's bed and sat down next to her. "I couldn't do anything to protect him. My ankle was broken, and I was out of magic, and my gun was shattered... and... and..." Lucca's breath came in shuddering gasps as she fought to keep from crying outright. "And he's been my friend ever since I was still wearing dresses! Longer! I don't even know when we first met anymore... and I couldn't do _anything!_"

Biting his tongue, Magus forced himself to put a hand on Lucca's shoulder. "It's... it's all right. He's back now," he said, in attempt to comfort a person for the first time in his life.

"And not at all by my doing!" Lucca sobbed. "Frog and Ayla and Marle went up the mountain to revive him! I didn't do anything... I... I just want to protect people! That's why I'm even doing this! I can't stand to see people suffer and die!"

"Truly a noble cause," Magus whispered. "I wish... that I could say the same for myself." A thought occurred to Magus. He had heard of Lucca's solo adventure to visit ten years in her own past. "But you can't say that you haven't ever protected anyone. Remember your mother?" He squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Even if you couldn't protect her at first, you went back and made it all right again."

Lucca felt something like electricity in her shoulder when Magus squeezed it. "I... I just want to protect..." she said softly, and trailed off as she felt Magus's other hand lightly touching her chin.

Magus brought Lucca's head around so that she was looking at his face. "And who will protect you... Lucca?" he asked.

Lucca's heart fluttered. "You... you're playing with me again!" she scolded him in a voice just barely above a whisper, but she did not pull away.

Magus shook his head, his eyes never leaving Lucca's. "I never have," he whispered. Mentally ordering himself, Now! Do it now! He slowly leaned towards her and kissed her softly. "I never have," he whispered in her ear. "Lucca... I love you, Lucca. Before I met you, and for quite some time afterwards, really, I never really knew what love felt like. But I mean every word I say when I tell you that you were the one who showed me."

Lucca's more cautious half continued to scream that what was happening couldn't be real, while the part of her that she forced herself to think of as disturbing urged her not to listen. _All this time I've been pushing him away,_ she realized. She had been afraid of what could happen if she let herself love him. She was still afraid. She hated taking chances, but...

"When I tell you I love you, you don't believe me," said Magus. "Please try to see that I do. Really."

"But you almost killed me that time..." Lucca argued.

"And then I didn't, did I? You know why, too. I told you."

_I need you,_ he had said.

"You didn't mean..."

"I've said a great many things to you that I didn't mean," said Magus. "That wasn't one of them."

Lucca could not believe her ears. Surely this could not be happening? As much as she wanted to believe it, that there really was a man who loved her, and that he was currently holding her in his arms after a kiss that had sent a tingling shock across her lips... and when it came right down to it, Magus was actually quite handsome when he wasn't scowling. True that his features were sharp, but it was in an almost delicate sort of way, she caught herself thinking again. She realized that she was holding her arms in midair, and she made her decision. Tossing her doubt aside once and for all, she brought them to rest around Magus's back.

"So..." said Magus, smiling as Lucca nestled closer to him, "when did _you_ ever wear a dress?"


	19. I Could Love You

Lucca laughed. "Oh gods, I think the last time I wore a dress was... maybe years ago? I don't know. But yeah, I was really a girl when I was little... not so much now, but I was then..."

"So was I," said Magus. "Figuratively," he amended, before Lucca could call him on it. "And I only realize that now that I've met myself. I was so completely spoiled, and vain..." He gave a semblance of a laugh. "I referred to my younger self as 'The Princess' once, actually."

"And you aren't now?" Lucca asked, narrowing her eyes. "I do recall you whining about messing up your hair just yesterday night..."

Magus rolled his eyes. "All right, you got me there. So, which of us is more feminine?"

"You," said Lucca as if it should be obvious. "Definitely you."

"Really, now," Magus replied, eyebrows raised. "Well, you may not have worn a dress in nine years, but you were in a skirt not terribly long ago..."

"How could I forget? You were staring at my butt!" Lucca laughed.

"I was not."

"You were!"

"I was quite clearly staring at your chest," Magus corrected her, his face completely straight.

This comment sent Lucca into gales of laughter. "So... it wasn't surprise after all?" she finally managed to ask.

"Well, surprise was _part_ of it..." Magus began. "Honestly, this is _you_ we're talking about. Anyone who's been around you more than ten minutes would stare. The only difference is where."

"How long have you been looking at me like that, anyway?"

"Truthfully?" Magus asked. "I'm not sure. Probably that starlit conversation we had in Fiona's wood... maybe a little bit earlier."

"The first time you kissed me... well, the first time you kissed me on purpose..." Lucca mused. A thought occurred to her. "Why did you leave that note?"

Magus sighed. "Really, it was a bad idea, now that I think of it," he decided aloud. "I did have a purpose, though. I felt that, as long as we traveled with your friends, we could not be seen together... they would ostracize you. You already know I know what that's like." He sighed. "I should have explained better that all I wanted was for you to act as if nothing had happened between us. I should have had more faith in your ability to act. And of course, I had no idea that the whole Gate Key Fiasco would take place."

"I suppose that makes sense... you did it because you cared for me?"

"Yes," Magus replied. "And... well, I was a little bit afraid of that, too. I was afraid to care for someone. I don't want to lose you, Lucca - everything so far that I've ever cared for has been lost to me."

"You still have Alfador," Lucca pointed out.

"Yes, that is true. But I cannot see him often. A cat, I believe, would be ill-suited to time travel. And there are a hundred things about you that make you so much greater than a pet, even one so beloved..." He turned to look at her.

Lucca looked back. "You do love me," she whispered. His eyes weren't lying.

"Yes," Magus confirmed. "I do."

"I -" Lucca began, but cut herself off as she moved to kiss Magus at the same time he moved to do the same to her. After several seconds of furious kissing, Lucca broke away, her hands on Magus's shoulders, her eyes at once nervous and hungry. "I... I think I... I could love you," she whispered, somewhat haltingly. A warm sensation halfway between a squeeze and a tingle was spreading from her heart to the pit of her stomach. Her eyelashes felt wet. "You... could you..." she began to ask hoarsely, but fulfilled her own request before she could finish making it. Throwing her arms around Magus's neck, she kissed him full force, squeezing his shoulder with one hand as she massaged the back of his neck with the other.

The realization washed over her all at once that this was what she had wanted for some time now, what she had really wanted, though she had been denying it to herself. She leaned closer to Magus as their mouths began to open, making small noises of delight as Magus's hands crept up and down her spine, sending wonderful shivers throughout her entire body. As she ran her fingers through Magus's river of hair, she broke away long enough to whisper, "I _do_ love you!"

By way of a response, Magus pulled Lucca toward him so that her head rested upon his shoulder, giving him access to the right-hand side of her neck. Lucca gasped slightly as she felt Magus's lips and tongue, and occasionally even gentle teeth, against her skin. She responded by lightly tickling the back of Magus' neck with her fingernails, but her other hand had strayed toward the buttons of his nightshirt, and had begun to undo them...

Luckily, one of them had managed to keep at least a semi-clear head. "Wait," Magus whispered. He sat up, and his spellbook appeared in his hand. "I need to do something." Biting his lower lip, he began leafing through it, starting at the middle and working his way toward the beginning.

"Are you _trying_ to spoil the mood?" Lucca asked, incredulous and more than a little annoyed. "What are you doing?"

"There's a spell in here that I need if this is going where I think it is," answered Magus. "Quiet - I'm not as good at this as I could be. I haven't used this one in a long time," he informed her. "Flea taught it to me long ago, and almost every magical student learns its toned-down version, even though I never used that variant... and since it isn't a lethal one, I'll have to be careful about how much power I put into it. My control over... this sort of spell... isn't great. Ah, here we go."

"What is it?"

"Quiet! I need to memorize this!" Magus mouthed a few words, furrowing his brow as he ran a finger across a line in the tome. He turned to Lucca. "Take off your shirt," he instructed her."

"_What?_"

"You heard me. It was probably going to come off anyway, judging from the way you were acting a minute ago." Magus repeated the incantation in his mind as Lucca shrugged and obliged, self-consciously crossing her arms over her chest. He placed his hand on Lucca's stomach, just over her navel, and murmured a few arcane words. A pale green mist formed around his hand, and sank beneath Lucca's skin. Lucca tried not to giggle at the tickling sensation it produced inside of her. "What was that?" she asked.

"That," Magus replied, his spellbook vanishing as he closed it, "was a very much toned down version of the curse that strikes a woman barren. It will have worn off in two days. For now, though... I believe it should serve our purposes quite nicely," he said matter-of-factly, a smug half-grin beginning to form on his face.

Lucca's heart fluttered. "Oh," she whispered, her face showing something like anticipation with just a hint of nervousness. "What... where were we, then?"

Her glasses were the first thing to go as they sank to the bed.

------------------------------

Lucca sighed blissfully as she lay with her arms around Magus's waist, her head nestled snugly against his chest. At that moment, she had never been happier in her life - certainly she had been equally happy when she had saved her mother from the debilitating accident with Taban's machine, but that had been an entirely different sort of happiness from the kind she felt now, as the man who loved her kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. The fantasies she had once had of Crono had never gone so far as lovemaking, she realized, and gave another happy sigh as she hugged Magus's body closer, to better feel the warmth of his body against hers. Magus removed his left arm from its location at Lucca's shoulders to gently tip her chin up, and kissed her again, never wanting to let go.

"Lucca..." he whispered as he slowly broke away.

"Janus..." she replied.

Arms around each other, they drifted off to sleep.


	20. Charm

Lucca yawned and rolled over the next morning, eyes still shut, and was somewhat surprised when she felt resistance when she tried to pull the covers closer to her shoulder to ward off the cool air that wafted in through the window. It occurred to her that she wasn't wearing anything. Two options occurred to her toward an explanation: One, the previous night's events had been a dream which she was still having, or two, it hadn't been a dream at all, which would be quite a pleasant surprise, she decided. Hesitantly, she turned her head. There, as she had almost not suspected, lay Magus, lying for once in the bed and not the air above it - and from the waist up, at least (for that was all Lucca could see of him), he wasn't wearing anything either. His eyes were open halfway, and he was smiling "Am I still dreaming?" Lucca asked him quietly.

"If you are, then I'm having the exact same dream," Magus replied.

"That seems unlikely..." said Lucca sleepily.

"I'd be terribly disappointed if it were true," Magus replied. "But even so... was it a good dream?"

"A very good dream," Lucca whispered as she wrapped her arms around Magus's shoulders and nestled her face against his chest. "You know, for someone who claims I'm the first woman he's ever been attracted to, you certainly are an amazing kisser."

"Really?" Magus asked, then, slyly, said, "Why, Lucca, you hurt my pride - to exalt the skill I have with my mouth and say nothing of -"

"Oh, hush," Lucca interrupted. "You have my virginity, what else do you want?"

Magus smiled and kissed her by way of a response.

-----------------------------

Frog woke to a view of Magus's empty bed, and wondered why he was gone when usually he slept until noon. He dressed himself and got up to knock on Lucca's door, and was surprised to hear two voices call "What?" instead of just one.

"Accept my apologies," he told Magus and Lucca through the closed door. "Squire, thy lessons art complete. Let us not tarry too long, for we must return."

Inside the room, Lucca turned to Magus. "What was that all about?" she asked him as her flush of mild embarrassment faded.

"That," Magus answered with a slight laugh, "was why Frog and I have been, as you so nicely put it, acting so chummy."

Lucca hadn't expected that. Looking at Magus with a face of mild confusion, she said, "Explain."

"Well, I told you that I'd been in love with you since the Forest?" Magus began. "I had been trying to win you over ever since then, and of course, I was kicking myself for that damn note. And I think you'll remember that I seemed to be doing a pretty bad job of it."

"Well, when every conversation with you ended in a shouting match..."

"Or worse, you running off in tears," Magus continued. "That wasn't supposed to happen. Ever."

"It was my fault," Lucca replied. "If I hadn't been so suspicious... but what about Frog, anyway?"

"Well, I offered to go with him to search for Cyrus because I needed his help. I was totally sure that without him, I had no chance at you."

"Wait," said Lucca. "That makes even less sense the more I think about it. First, you asked the help of Frog, who never loved a woman in his life, how to impress me? And second, you asked him knowing full well why he hated you? I didn't think even you had that kind of audacity."

"I asked his help because he's a knight, and he knew the manners I didn't!" Magus explained. "It was chivalry lessons I was after, not tips on impressing women. I impressed plenty back when I was masquerading as the Prophet. I wanted to make things up to you, and the audacity, as you so crudely called it, was born of sheer desperation. Now, let me tell you, he took it very poorly when I told him that the reason I needed his help was that I'd fallen in love, but I convinced him in the end."

"And that's why you shared a room with him," Lucca said, nodding. "You became his squire, in a way."

"Yes," said Magus. "That is one way to put it. And it is also why I'd been letting him walk all over me all the time. He threatened to tell you everything before I was ready for you to know if I didn't follow his every instruction to the word. And in matters such as love, his advice was blind to gender."

"What did he tell you?"

"He told me to do the only thing he'd never had the courage to do himself - confess."

"Well," said Lucca, "I'm glad you did." She paused. "You know, we should really get dressed..."

"Agreed," said Magus as he sat up. Somewhat reluctantly, he put his nightshirt back on, kissed Lucca, and returned to his shared room with Frog, where he had left his clothes.

Frog sat on his bed, smiling half-sadly. "So," he said, "thou hast won the lady's love."

Magus nodded. "Thank you," he whispered.

-------------------------------

Lucca was completely unable to keep a somewhat-silly grin from her face as she walked over to the fence at the edge of the End of Time. She draped her elbows between the prongs and relaxed, heaving a loud, happy sigh. Occasionally, she would catch herself glancing at Magus, who was frankly a far better actor than she (brooding in his usual pot as if nothing had happened), but stopped herself for fear of being caught.

"Hey, Lucca! Earth to Lucca!"

"Wait, what?" Lucca snapped out of her reverie and cursed as she stood up too quickly, twisting her arm between two fence-spikes. Marle's cheerful face was directly in her line of vision. "Oh! Right, I didn't see you there," was Lucca' feeble excuse.

"Hi!" said Marle. "How did it go? Did you find the ghost?"

"Yeah," said Lucca. "It went... very well. It was a bit slow going at first because we had no idea where to look, but we did find the ghost. And yeah, it was definitely Cyrus. Something happened to the Masamune, and then, once we got back to town -" Lucca stopped short. Her next words would have to be very, very careful, to cover up what she had just almost spilled. A slight blush crept across her nose.

Marle did notice Lucca's abrupt stop, and wrinkled her brow thoughtfully. "All right, what happened?" she asked.

"Nothing! I just... had a nice dinner!" _You're batting a thousand here, Grease Monkey_, Lucca thought to herself sarcastically, using Magus's pet name for herself.

"Something must have happened! A dinner wouldn't make you blush, Lu." Lucca swore silently as realization dawned upon Marle's face. "Wait... Lucca... did you get _laid?_"

_Oh, announce it to the world_, said Lucca's inner voice. Her outer self, however, winced. "What? No!" she said, reddening further. "How could that... I mean, who would want..." she spluttered.

"Oh, come on, Lucca - you know you can be pretty when you try!" Marle needled. "Like when we stayed overnight at your house, and I did your hair and makeup? You looked really hot."

Lucca huffed. "I can't touch you or Ayla," she said sullenly.

"Well, at least now you're admitting you're not ugly!" Marle grinned in a somewhat smug manner. "Come on, I know you scored. Who was it?"

"Nobody!" Lucca reddened further. "Come on, who was there with me that I know well enough to do that with? Frog? Magus?"

"Wait, so Frog and you..."

"No, he's definitely gay," said Lucca, not realizing what she implied.

"Then... No. Way." Marle looked at Lucca with a positively indescribable expression. "That's just...!"

"And I didn't sleep with him either!" said Lucca hastily, her face approaching maroon. _Magus! Help me!_ she called silently, wondering whether he could actually hear her thoughts.

In fact, he could not, but he did hear the nature of her distress. Sighing, he glided over to where Marle was needling Lucca. "I would appreciate it if you would cease slandering me," he said coldly. Winking at Lucca before Marle gasped and turned about, he said, "Honestly. A chit like that - really! Ugly as sin. She's doomed to be an old maid."

Lucca breathed a sigh or relief as the excess blood drained from her face. "See?" she said. "You might think I'm pretty, Marle, but he obviously doesn't. And besides, you only said it was when I tried, and frankly, while I'm out adventuring, I don't have time to put on makeup every morning."

"Or even wash her hair every night," Magus added, wrinkling his nose in mock disgust. "Meanwhile, I need a word with you, Grease Monkey. _Your Highness_, will you excuse us?" he asked coldly, with a glance in Marle's direction, before he grabbed Lucca's arm and steered her off toward the room with the pillars of light, where the two of them could talk in private.

"You," he said to Lucca in an annoyed tone, "need to learn how to act."

"Hey, I was trying my best! It's hard to control myself when I'm feeling this... I don't know!" Lucca shot back.

"Well, keep whatever feelings you're having. Please," Magus added with a wry smile. "All you really need to control is your face. And unless you want this little affair to lose its status as a secret..." Magus let Lucca fill in the last few words mentally, then added, "I certainly don't."

"Of course I don't want them to know!" Lucca whispered back. "They might not ostracize me, but I have no idea what they'd do to you! Well, Crono and Marle, at least. Frog already knows, and I'm pretty sure Ayla doesn't care. Robo definitely doesn't, seeing how he was so objective about you when we were trapped."

"They'd probably suspect I was using some kind of a Charm spell on you," Magus nodded. "You're right, though - those two care about you, and not me. It would be, to say the least, very difficult to stay together if they did discover us."

"You're not, are you?" Lucca asked, with mock suspicion.

"Not what? Using a Charm spell?" Magus laughed. "That's ridiculous. If I'd deigned to use one from the start, I never would have needed to enlist Frog's help. Besides, you would be acting decidedly different if you were Charmed. _This_ is a Charm spell!" Magus made a small gesture with one hand while making direct eye contact with Lucca, who received the full force of the spell. She gasped, blushed, and giggled girlishly.

"You..." she began, stuttering a bit. "Are you really mine?"

"See?" said Magus with a smug half-grin and raised eyebrows.

"I don't deserve you - but oh, please hold me -" She moved closer to Magus and leaned against his chest.

"You ought not to do that just now," Magus told her flatly. "We'd both regret it in a few moments."

"Of course, anything!" Lucca hastily agreed, and she moved away as quickly as she could. "I would follow you to hell and back, my darling, and... and... _What the hell was that?_" she shouted crossly as the spell, which had been a weak one meant to last less than a minute, wore off.

Magus did something that he had only done a few times in his life: he threw back his head and laughed. "I told you I wasn't using a Charm spell!" he said smugly. "You see the difference?"

"Do I! That was a violation of my mind, Ass, and -"

"And was meant for the purposes of demonstration only," Magus said firmly. "Spells completely defeat the purpose. A controlled partner is utterly boring - I have no interest in _toys_."

"You had better be telling the truth!"

"Well, why wouldn't I? Up until now, I haven't needed to mislead you," Magus pointed out. "You'll notice I made not even the barest hint of a move on you while you were under my influence. There was a reason I told you not to throw yourself at me."

Lucca opened her mouth to reply, but a snappy response was not forthcoming. She stood there, opening and closing her mouth somewhat like a fish, before a tinge of red crept across her nose. "Point taken," she said. "You win."

"You see the difference?" Magus continued. "That kind of spell is another that's popular among the magical students, though this time among the... less scrupulous. Most who learn that one cast a version that lasts a bit longer - a few hours, normally - and things almost never end well, as you could probably imagine. They always say that for best results, the caster should leave before the spell wears off. I was oblivious to their existence as a child, but once I returned to Kajar, I became... less sheltered."

"So why did YOU learn it?"

"Because I could," Magus replied simply. "I cannot deny that Charm spells have their uses, and while I had no intention of ever casting one, I wished to preserve the knowledge of Zeal Kingdom before its demise."

"Well, what about all those women you said you didn't love? You didn't Charm any of them, did you? After all, you didn't care about them, so if all you were after was -"

"I most certainly did not," Magus huffed. "I wouldn't have given any of them a second glance if they hadn't come onto me first, regardless of how pretty they may have been. None of them were very interesting people to talk with."

"'People with whom to talk,'" Lucca corrected him automatically.

Magus gave the almost-laugh that had become common between Lucca and himself. "You know, not terribly long ago, I certainly would not have appreciated your grammar corrections. Now, though, I'm even laughing at them." He sighed. "I suppose that it's a product of love that both parties learn to endure, and even enjoy, the annoyances of the other partner."

"Like your effeminacy?"

"You told me you appreciated a beautiful man!"

It was Lucca's turn to chuckle. "You take it a bit far, though."

"I do not!"

"'It ruins my hair!'" Lucca said in a passable imitation of Magus's tone, if not his octave. "Honestly, Magus, even I don't pay as much attention to my appearance as you do."

"I never paid much attention to your appearance. And would you drop the thing about my hair?"

"You know what I mean!" Lucca replied, halfway between exasperation and amusement. "Seriously, you spend more time in the bathroom every morning than I do! I think the only person who's ever beaten you, at least the only one that I've met, has to be Marle! And Ayla doesn't count; she was playing with the faucets," Lucca finished, referring to the time that the three of them, plus Robo, had been trapped together.

"We've gotten completely sidetracked," said Magus. "I, for one, am going back to the reason I brought you up here in the first place. Look sullen for me. Or annoyed. Or anything but lovestruck."

Lucca looked at Magus blandly. "I take it you're going to correct my technique?" she asked.

"Bland is good," said Magus, ignoring Lucca's question. "Now think about last night, and _keep looking bland_."

Lucca's bland expression began to look artificial. She was made aware of facial twitches by Magus lightly flicking her shoulder when she started to crack. She sighed. "I never could keep my mind on two things at once!" she complained. "And this particular subject is, might I say, _difficult_ not to act upon when you're right here."

"I don't want to be forced to make you angry at me again," Magus replied.

"Yeah, I know, I'd better learn this!" Lucca replied. "Jump-start me. I need more thoughts to not show."

"What, like this?" Magus asked, and ran his finger along Lucca's jaw, bringing her eyes up so she could see his smiling face. A shiver crept down Lucca's spine at the same time that her stomach dropped, and she was stunned for a few moments before being overcome with desire and practically leaping into Magus's arms. "I didn't mean -" Magus began, but was cut off suddenly by Lucca's lips. _I should have expected this_, he thought as the surprise wore off, and pulled away. "This is getting nowhere," he said.

"Stop ruining it," Lucca replied. Her eyes remained hungry.

"We'll arouse suspicion if we stay in here too long," Magus pointed out. "Forget this, and think about machines whenever we're not alone. If you crack and someone notices, find some lie to explain it."

"Okay, you're right, you're right," said Lucca with a mild note of disappointment. With Magus close behind, she returned to the room with the lamppost, resolutely keeping her mind on quantum mechanics. In a minute, however, her mind wandered.

"You're doing it again," said Marle. "You're thinking about _something_, that's for sure."

"What? Oh - um -" Lucca bit her lip. "Um... just... fan fiction."


	21. Learning Magic

"Have you noticed that there's seven tasks Gaspar set out for us, seven of us, and suspicious coincidences between tasks and our own histories and abilities?" Crono mused once the six who needed rest were rested. "We retrieved the Rainbow Shell, a relic from Ayla's time. Frog honored Cyrus's grave. Marle saved her father from that Yakra spawn. Magus finally finished Ozzie off. Lucca undid her own past. And Gaspar said something about the 'Birthplace of Machines,' so I'm fairly certain that's for Robo."

"Eight," said Lucca.

"We haven't done anything that has to do with me, though," Crono continued, ignoring Lucca. "He said something about someone close to one of us needed help... process of elimination, that's me..."

"Eight," Lucca repeated.

"But my mom's not in trouble, is she? I mean, there's not really any inherent danger living in Truce in our time – you think it's Marle? But he said 'Find this person,' that kind of says whoever it is is lost... so it's not Mom or Marle..."

Lucca's eye twitched. "Eight! Eight tasks!" she nearly shouted at Crono. "He set us eight things to do! You've forgotten the Sun Stone. Magus went with Marle and Ayla to go and retrieve it. Gaspar had said we should get it. We got it. Eight tasks. Your theory is flawed."

"I wonder if it's my dad? I've never met him..."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Lucca turned toward Epoch. "Robo, come on - we're finding this 'Birthplace of Machines.'"

"An admirable outburst, Grease Monkey. You wouldn't mind too terribly if I came along with you? I've only recently managed to pry this artifact away from your prehistoric friend," - Magus had a smooth, blue rock in the palm of his hand – "and as it turns out, it has a magical resonance between fire and darkness that only seems to show up in your machine's presence. It requires further study; I believe it may form a sort of link between your power and mine."

"What? Oh - uh, yeah, I could use the extra firepower," Lucca replied somewhat hastily. "I guess I'm flying, then?"

"You are," Magus affirmed, not even looking over his shoulder as he boarded Epoch in a graceful arc. Lucca hopped into the pilot's seat and set her course for Robo's post-apocalyptic future.

"This must be the place," said Lucca as she landed Epoch on a large island. At the island's center stood a mostly-intact and partially lit factory, surrounded by the shattered remains of a glass dome. Lucca turned to Robo. "Look familiar to you?"

"Negative. It is unusual for a machine to have memory of its factory of origin."

"Well, there's something going on in there. It's lit up." The doors slid open as she approached, and she, Robo, and Magus entered the brightly-lit and surprisingly clean facility. Lucca automatically approached the computer panel next to the locked inner door. She flipped it on. The screen flickered for a moment, then shut itself off just as Robo spoke.

"Analysis complete," he said. "Please follow me." He walked up to the computer panel. "Excuse me."

Lucca moved aside to allow Robo better access. Finding a socket, he plugged himself directly into the console.

"Who enters here unbidden?" asked a pleasant, but clearly not human, female voice. "Oh... welcome home, R-66Y. Or should I say... Prometheus? You dare defile this place with humans?" There was a short pause. "I haven't seen them in ages," said the voice from the console. "Let me... welcome them. Come closer..."

With that, the outer doors closed, and the inner door opened. Magus and Lucca looked at each other and nodded. Each already had a hand on their weapon.

"Let's see just what you can do," said the computer's voice as the two humans and the robot stepped through the inner door, onto a conveyor belt. Several robots, both the quadruped variety and the type that moved about on treads, approached with their weapons visibly charged. Lucca threw fire at them, destroying several, but more moved in to fill the hole. She was about to do it again when the universe opened up beneath and around the machines, twisting their bodies into useless wrecks all at once and leaving them scattered, broken, on the floor. Lucca turned slowly - Magus straightened his glove, looking more than a little smug.

"How do you _do_ that?" Lucca whispered.

"Would you like me to teach you to do something similar? I can see the potential in -"

"Not bad... for humans," the voice interrupted. "But can you find your way to me?"

And with that, Magus decided that whoever this she-machine on the loudspeaker was, she needed to die.

The voice spoke again as Robo led the way further into Geno Dome. "300 years ago, the Lavos disaster greatly changed this planet. At this rate, the humans will die out from pure despair," it said.

Lucca and Magus were not listening. "Take out those two machines," Magus instructed as a pair of robot guards sprang to life. "Hit them with everything you have, so I can evaluate how far you have to go."

Lucca nodded, and concentrated. A hot wind blew through her hair, and fiery explosions left the two robots broken, with streaks of carbon scoring decorating them. The wind settled down, and Lucca looked up.

"Not bad," Magus told her with a nod. "I won't lie and say it was excellent, but it definitely wasn't bad. You're sure you weren't holding back at all?"

"I'm sure," Lucca replied.

"You can do better with a little instruction. It's a damn shame you never had a teacher."

"I'd like to learn."

Magus gave a smile of satisfaction. "Then I will teach you."

It was a day of blasting through laser turrets, destroying robot guards, and hacking before Lucca and Magus were too tired to focus. With Magus around, setting up a shelter (to hide their heat signature rather than to protect from weather indoors) was a one-person job; the tent practically set itself up. Lucca and Magus sat inside it as Robo stood watch outside.

"Conjure a flame to light this darkness," Magus instructed. Lucca did so. "You can feel the magic, can't you?"

She nodded by way of a reply.

"Good - and you can feel where it's coming from, right?"

"From right behind my eyes," she answered. "It goes from my eyes, through my head, down my arm, and into the fire in my hand."

Magus nodded. "Now, tell me what precisely you are doing here."

"Conjuring fire," Lucca answered simply.

"Try again, with more detail."

"I'm not sure how else to put it," Lucca said, brow furrowed. "I mean, this is the easiest way for me to use my magic. It wants to be fire."

"Of course it does," Magus replied. "Fire is your natural gift, as the void is mine. You have not learned the fine control I have, though, and to release your full potential, you must learn deeper understanding of what you are doing."

"Well, what am I doing, then? Spekkio just said 'You're fire' and pointed at me; he didn't go into any deep explanation of how it'd work," said Lucca, extinguishing her flame and lightning a lamp. "And he's a god or something, so I just figured that was all there is to it."

"Spekkio is the Master of War, not the Master of Arcana," Magus said dismissively. "He admitted himself that I know more of magic than he does. Conjure that flame again. You're going to learn to meditate."

Lucca did so.

"Good. Now, fit yourself into the flame," Magus instructed. "Empty your mind of all thoughts, save those that make you fire."

It was more difficult than it sounded. Lucca struggled with keeping herself focused on herself; first the hard metal floor was too uncomfortable, then the back of her neck itched. "Force all distractions from your mind," said Magus's voice. Brow furrowed in concentration, Lucca thought of relentless determination, of passion, of warmth, of the forge. _I guess that's what it is,_ she thought, then shoved even that thought from her mind. It was immediately replaced by _Damn it, this floor is cold._ She opened her eyes. "That's hard to do," she said.

"Of course it is," Magus told her. "Nobody said magic was easy. Do you want to be a proper sorceress or not?"

"I didn't say I was giving up!" Lucca said irritably. "I slipped for a little, that's all. Shut up and let me try again." She shut her eyes again and took a deep breath. Magus watched her. Lucca took one deep breath at a time, her face serene except for her eyebrows, which converged ever so slightly. "Bring yourself into the flame in your hand," Magus told her. "Become part of it. Know it by being it."

Lucca offered no response to Magus's directions, and continued her rhythmic breathing. She opened her eyes, but remained in her meditative state, gazing into her fire.

"That's enough," Magus told her after a short time. Lucca looked up, and her flame vanished. "Where did you learn to breathe like that?" Magus asked her.

"You'll laugh if I tell you," Lucca warned.

"Tell me anyway."

"Fine," said Lucca, knowing he'd get it out of her eventually. "When I was a kid, I heard you could learn how to hover by doing that, so I tried... it never worked."

"Fair enough," said Magus. "Now, tell me what it is to be a fire."

"Well, heat is a lot of it," said Lucca. "It needs something to fuel it, and that's the magic I put into it. And when I start it, I have to use magic to make the heat in the first place. But the heat is what makes the light, and what lets the fire find more fuel."

"Good. Tell me, what happens if you don't use your magic as fuel, and only use it as heat?"

"I never tried that," Lucca admitted. "The heat is hard to control – it's much easier to use just a little at the beginning and let the fire do the work once it's started."

"Naturally," said Magus. "But those who focus on what is easy and give their power free rein can never match those who master their power and control it fully. Draw the heat from your fire without letting the fire out of you. The fire is much stronger inside your body than out." Magus closed his eyes for a moment, and a candle appeared in his hand. He placed it in midair, where it floated unaided. "Melt it without lighting it," he instructed.

Lucca stared at the candle, her brow furrowed. It began to drip, slowly. Within twenty seconds, the candle was a puddle of wax beneath a floating wick.

"Do it faster next time," Magus instructed. "For now, we both need rest." He plucked the wick from the air and made a pulling motion with his other hand. The wax reapplied itself to the wick, forming a perfect cylinder.

The bluntness that had once bothered Lucca now made her smile. "I'll practice on something moving tomorrow," she said as she pulled off her boots. "Keep me warm on this metal floor?"

"You know you have blankets for that, but I'm not about to refuse." He stripped off his armor, boots, and cape as Lucca did the same of her own upper layer of clothing and extinguished her lamp, and lay down next to her. "Goodnight, little fire mage. I'll see to it that you become great."

--------------------------------------

The concept of morning and night had no meaning inside the factory, so Robo roused the two humans eight hours later. Since there was no way to easily contain a campfire indoors, breakfast was jerky. Lucca chewed as Magus continued to instruct her on how best to use her magic. She melted a second candle, this one in a few seconds less time, and set a third on fire by mistake, vaporizing it completely in less than five. "Focus," Magus had said to her at her mistake. "You could have done that with less expenditure of energy if you'd controlled the fire."

Lucca nodded. "Enough candles for now, though," she said. "I want to hit something bigger with this."

Magus nodded. "Shall we head on, then?"

"I think so."

As they packed up their tent, the voice on the loudspeaker spoke again. "Don't you understand? This planet would be peaceful if there were no humans around. And yet you still want to fight? Why?"

"That computer lady doesn't quite grasp the concept of having a will to live," Lucca mused. "Up ahead. Look, I see a couple of defense turrets. Should I try and overheat them?"

Magus nodded. "If they catch fire, just be sure it's as a secondary effect of overheating and not because you conjured any flames."

"Right." Lucca concentrated on one of the turrets, stretching out with the power from behind her eyes to funnel heat into the turret's circuits. A siren started to go off, but she blocked it out of her head. Metal was harder to heat than wax, but in a short while, the turret powered down as it started emitting smoke. "I'm pretty sure I didn't slip that time," she told Magus. "At least, I don't think that smoke is mine."

"Good. Get the other one, but melt it outright this time." He placed his hand on Lucca's shoulder as she began again to heat the metal. "It comes from behind your eyes. Concentrate... control the heat. You are a conduit, let the heat come rushing out... don't let anything else get in its way... good! You can feel it, I know. Let it come..."

Lucca took a deep breath and did her best to follow Magus's instructions. The turret didn't melt, but it began smoking almost instantly as the wires inside glowed a dull red. She exhaled. "That felt... really good."

"Magic in its purest form does," Magus replied. "The more you can channel at once, the better it'll end up feeling. It's the reason some people take up magic - to feel it all at once, that ecstatic pleasure that sweeps you up, surrounds you, courses through your body and leaves you reveling in arcane power -"

"All right, I get it!" Lucca interrupted. "You sound like... damn, I don't even know what you sound like. What will you teach me next, Sensei?"

"Don't call me Sensei" was Magus's response. "I don't need to teach you anything else. You just need practice - you've already proven you can do it and you're learning fast. Meditate on your magic before you go to sleep. As you hone your concentration, you will be able to channel more and more heat at once. Work until you can flash-melt solid steel, everything in as big a radius as you can. You'll learn that."

And so began another day of blasting through laser turrets, destroying robot guards, and hacking.


	22. Flare

Lucca's magic had visibly improved the next morning - she still was unable to flash-melt metallic targets, but she was able to make them glow red with heat in less than a second. Turning a corner, she caught sight of a large-framed figure approaching them. It was an R-series robot, outer shell lacquered pink, a ribbon attached to the exhaust pipe. "Welcome home, Prometheus." The robot stepped closer, photoreceptors blinking in a soulless, regular pattern.

Robo's photoreceptors flickered. "...Atropos?"

"Yes," the robot replied. "It's been a while, Prometheus. You can stop pretending now and join us."

Lucca frowned. "Pretending?"

A laugh issued from Atropos's speakers. "Unlike the other R-series, Prometheus had a special task," she explained. "To live with humans and study them as a species... to find their strengths and weaknesses. Prometheus is a spy."

Magus frowned as if he had been proven right about an unpleasant truth, but Lucca shook her head, her eyes wide. "That's a lie!"

"Tell them, Prometheus."

Robo didn't reply, but Atropos behaved as though he had. "Now, step back, Prometheus. We'll get rid of these humans, then go see Mother..."

"Robo..." Lucca looked close to tears as her favorite project moved closer to her, between her and Atropos. He made no move to harm her. Atropos, however, attempted to move past Robo - but Robo moved with surprising alacrity. Metal clanged on metal as Robo's fist connected.

"What are you doing, Prometheus?" Atropos asked, alarmed.

"I won't allow you to hurt them!" Robo told her.

Atropos paused. "You are indeed defective," she concluded. "They have tampered with you. I'll destroy them, then fix you."

"Atropos... you've changed."

"Indeed," Atropos laughed. "Mother remade me to eliminate humans more efficiently! Step back, Prometheus."

"My name is Robo."

"Prometheus!" Atropos lunged forward and knocked Robo to the floor, and Lucca and Magus drew their weapons.

Robo got up. "Wait!" he said, placing himself between his friends and his mad sister. "Stand back and leave this to me."

As Lucca and Magus moved out of the way, Robo turned. "Atropos...!"

She briefly opened her chassis to let off extra heat. "Prometheus!" She laughed mechanically, and with a whoosh of rockets, launched her fist at Robo. Robo countered with his own launched fist.

Lucca watched with apprehension as the two machines fought like mirror images. As Robo closed on Atropos, Atropos met him with a clang of metal on metal. Locked in combat with Robo, Atropos deployed a powerful thermal grenade beneath him, and shielded herself from the blast with his body. Lucca gasped and hoped his repair nanites would survive as the rush of hot wind from Atropos's grenade forced her to look away.

With a metallic shriek, Robo tore himself out of Atropos's hold and retreated just far enough to launch himself bodily at her. Atropos hit him with another grenade, but Robo burst through it to knock Atropos off balance. She fell with a crash. As she struggled to rise, Robo began to emit a loud whirr, and just as Atropos charged him again, he released a massive electrical discharge.

Atropos took the full force of the shock, and electricity crawled over her surface for a few seconds. "I... AM..." she began, but was cut off as an explosion wracked her body, and with a clank, she fell to the floor. Her eyes stopped flickering, and took on a dim, steady glow. "P... Prometheus? It's been... ages!" she said, in a voice different from the one that had spoken before.

A note of astonishment crept into Robo's drone. "Atropos...?"

Atropos's eyes flickered to red briefly as she performed a diagnostic. "I'm damaged? What happened?" she asked.

She was back. "Atropos!" Robo ran to his sane-again sister and attempted to interface with her, to repair. The socket was damaged; Robo's plug did not fit.

"My memory bank..." Atropos began. "Mother must have done something nasty when she reprogrammed me..."

Lucca ran to aid Robo, and began making manual repairs on the back of Atropos's head. Her eyes flickered for a moment. "Partial memory... restored... I'm sorry... Prometheus."

"Save your strength! I'll patch you up," Lucca told the robot, but a grinding noise came from Atropos's neck area as she tried, and failed, to shake her head. "It isn't possi...ble... vital fuctions are do...wn... m...memory bank damaged..."

"Atropos!" Robo tried to help Lucca with her repairs, but there was nothing to be done. The ribbon attached to her exhaust pipe disengaged itself and fell near Robo's feet.

"This... is for you..." Atropos said, her voice fading into a lower pitch as her modulators failed. "You can... plug this... into your circuits... please... take care... of it... good...bye... Pro...metheus..."

Lucca shook her head, mouth open, as Atropos's photoreceptors flickered, then went dark. She picked up the ribbon, and installed it into one of Robo's ports. "I'm sorry," she said.

And the loudspeaker spoke again. "Listen well, humans," said the woman's voice. "Lavos's children will one day have to leave to seek new planets and prey. This world _could_ sustain them... if humans were not around. We robots will create a new order... a nation of steel, and pure logic. A true paradise! Our 'species' will replace you. So stop your foolish struggle, and succumb to the sleep of eternity."

_Awfully poetic for a machine,_ Lucca thought, but she didn't say anything. It was not the time.

"Awfully poetic for a machine," said Magus. Lucca elbowed him in the ribs, only to be ignored. "It was a pity your mechanical pet didn't let us near the other one, or you could have tested yourself further - stop that!" he said, as Lucca elbowed him again. "It's not as if machines have -"

"Robo does," Lucca replied crossly. "And if you want me to sleep with you tonight, you'll not disparage his _feelings_ again."

"Lucca, don't do that... Frog didn't teach me how to deal with that kind of threat!"

"So use your own judgment!" Lucca replied as she strode ahead. "I know you must have some in there, otherwise you would have blown yourself up ages ago with all that magic oozing out your ears."

Magus paused, mouth open, about to say something but he didn't know what. Eventually, he decided on, "Do you know you're the only person in the entire world who can leave me completely in the dark as to what I should say?"

"Well, you haven't shut up yet, so your theory lacks evidence at the moment," Lucca instantly replied as she mounted a ladder, following Robo.

_Twice in a row! The girl's good,_ Magus thought admiringly, and followed her down the ladder to a metal catwalk. Robo led, and entered an access code to open a door.

Lucca recoiled at the smell of burnt meat that hit her as it slid open. "Wh... what the..." She looked up to see a shackled man on the conveyor belt, heading toward the entrance to a machine resembling a garbage compactor. "Let's help them!" But as she ran toward the belt to yank the man off of it, she was repulsed by an electrical force field. Magus caught her before she hit the ground, stunned, and they could only watch as the man fell into the machine with a final scream of terror. Something sparkled on the belt leaving the machine. _Burn away the rest of the elements, then compact the carbon into... that's awful!_ A raw diamond was all that was left of what had seconds ago been a living, conscious human being.

Cold metal on Lucca's arm brought her out of her daze. "Let us stop the machine!" said Robo. He examined the control console and shook his head. "It's too well guarded," he explained. "We'll have to destroy the central computer."

"Isn't that..." Lucca began.

"Mother," said Robo. "I know."

"You're not..."

"I hold no attachment to the program which created me."

Lucca nodded silently as her only response.

---------------------------------------------

That evening, Magus examined the blue rock he had shown Lucca before leaving the End of Time. Gloves off, he ran his fingers over it and probed it with his mind - it had no power of its own, but it refracted magic the way a prism refracted light. Turning to Lucca, he asked, "What do you make of this?"

Picking up the rock, Lucca held it two inches from her nose and looked at it both with and without her glasses. "It's a little translucent," she said. "Hang on, let me try something. I'm curious." She rummaged in her bag for something, and upon not finding it, stepped out of the shelter she'd set up and placed the rock on the floor. "Robo, shine your laser on this for me, high end of your frequency spectrum?"

Robo beeped agreement and concentrated a beam at the center of the rock. Lucca's hunch was confirmed - it lit up from within, a bright, clear blue. Lucca thanked Robo as he turned off his laser, and she took the rock.

"I thought it might fluoresce," she said triumphantly as she ducked back into the shelter. "I could mod Robo's laser with this."

"A pity that says nothing about the magical resonance I see in it," Magus replied. "Installing it in your robot won't damage it?"

"Absolutely not," was Lucca's answer. "If it cracked or anything, it'd be worthless."

"Would it be close to the surface? I'd still like to study it."

"Right on the surface. You'll be able to touch it if you wanted to."

"Then go ahead. But I have a bit of a theory too - so I'm going to ask you to use this." From somewhere unknowable, he produced a coil of silver wire. Lucca nodded in agreement, and set about installing the blue rock as Robo's new hardware before she went to sleep.

-------------------------------------

The only door left in the morning was the largest and most heavily-guarded of any of the doors they had yet seen. "Is this..." Lucca began.

"The central computer," Robo finished. As he moved to place one of the keys they'd found in the slot beside the door, an alarm blared and the six laser turrets surrounding the door all trained themselves on Robo.

Magus nudged Lucca. "All at once," he said, and she nodded. Lucca concentrated, and a hot wind rose from the floor. Instead of funneling her magic into one target, she let it spread over all six of them. The turrets took on a bright red glow, then cooled to black, nonfunctional.

Lucca sighed. "I almost had it," she complained. "I almost melted them!"

"So you need more practice," Magus replied. "So what? Impatience will serve you not at all."

Lucca knew that she'd only get more frustrated if she responded. "Let's just kill this computer," she said with a resigned sigh. As Robo placed the keys in their sockets, the heavy door slid open, revealing - as expected - a computer control room, its far wall lined with three computer displays. Lucca stepped into the control room, and Magus and Robo followed.

The door slid shut behind them. Code flashed across the display screens, and several lenses on the floor sent out intersecting beams of light, which coalesced to form the holographic image of a towering woman. She spoke in the same voice as the loudspeakers: "You did well to come this far. I am the Mother Brain of the R-Y series factory. Come, Prometheus. You must once again join us. I'll reset your circuitry and erase your memories. Then we'll dispose of these filthy humans."

Robo turned, and Lucca bit her lip, wondering if her alterations to Robo would override his original program. He spoke. "I'm sorry, but... I can't afford to lose anything else... not my precious memories, or my irreplaceable friends."

Lucca exhaled.

The Mother Brain's holographic face remained a fixed mask, but her voice betrayed displeasure. "You would betray _me_ to stay with these humans? You would turn against the family of robots?"

"Humans have taught me much. Crono, Marle, Lucca, Frog, and Ayla... I will not betray my friends."

Even as she laughed derisively, the Mother Brain's face did not change. "This is rich! Don't make me laugh... _you_ have emotions? I'll show you just how 'human' you've become!"

With that, the Mother Brain projected an ultraviolet ray at Lucca, who squinted and turned away so as not to damage her eyes. Lucca's skin reddened and she felt it blister. She gritted her teeth as the ray went away - Robo had moved to block it. He advanced and slammed his fist into the holographic projector in the floor below the Mother Brain.

Code flashed across the display screens, and a swarm of tiny robots, almost nanites, swept over the damaged projector and repaired it, then zipped to Robo and crawled between the cracks in his armor plates. Robo's eyes began flickering wildly, as Atropos's had been. He silently turned toward Lucca, pinned her arms to her sides, and began squeezing.

At Lucca's cry of distress, Magus whipped around and hurled a ball of crackling dark energy at Robo. Robo froze as it hit him, then dropped Lucca. His eyes had regained their steady, dim glow.

"Take out the displays," Magus instructed Lucca. "Make sure they don't send out any more bugs."

Lucca nodded, and knit her brow. _I'll get this_. Magic flowed from behind Lucca's eyes to her fingertips, and out into the center of the room, where balls of yellow-hot air coalesced, then exploded in a wave of plasma that instantly melted the innerworkings of the control displays and caused the holographic form of the Mother Brain to shimmer and distort for a moment such that her face almost took on what looked like a grimace of pain. Lucca failed to notice Magus's nod of approval, and perhaps even a little admiration.

At the moment of his nod, Magus felt it: the resonance from the blue rock. The knot of black magic just beneath his sternum he had been able to properly perceive for years - decades, now - but in addition to that, he could feel the blue rock installed in Robo's laser cannon, and through it, the fire gathering behind Lucca's eyes as if it were his own. And he could feel her thoughts - not hear them, quite, but feel them in the manner of a conversation held through a wall.

She wasn't ready yet.

Making a few arcane gestures, he sent his magic out as a barrier around Lucca, and not a moment too soon. A column of laser beams filled the room, briefly forming a cage around the Mother Brain and her hologram generators. Lucca's thoughts were getting clearer in Magus's head.

She was ready. By some tacit agreement, both opened the gates to their magic at once. Darkness from Magus and heat from Lucca gathered in the blue rock, and as the two mages began to flicker in and out of existence, Robo rose into the air. His chestplate opened and from the lens revealed shot a blast of ultraviolet light, directly into the center of the hologram generators. There was an explosion, the universe briefly turned inside out, and suddenly everything was normal again.

Break down.

"P... pro... me... theus... W... why?" The lighting in the factory, including emergency lighting, flickered out.

Robo's green eyes were the only source of light in the darkness. "All machines in the factory have been shut off for good," he said.

Lucca widened her eyes like an owl in a vain attempt to see. "Robo..."

The two green points dipped in a nod. "Let's go!" said Robo, holding aloft a small light.

Lucca hooked her arm around Magus's as they followed Robo's light through the darkness, careful not to trip. "You know," said Lucca, "He's just like you, did you notice?"

Magus stared at her as if she'd said something distasteful. "How did you ever come to that conclusion?"

"Think about it. A prince among his kind, displaced from his native time by Lavos and adopted by people different from himself, returns to his birthplace to find his sister coerced by his insane mother -"

"Stop talking. Right now."

Lucca shrugged. "I didn't have anything else to say anyway. I'm sorry if you don't like being compared to Robo, but you really need to be less of a technophobe."

"Considering a group of metal-supremacists just tried to slaughter us, I'm fairly certain my technophobia is perfectly warranted," Magus replied flatly.

"Suit yourself," said Lucca with a shrug. "But bear in mind that one of their kind risked his own shell to protect you just yesterday."

"More likely, he was protecting you, not me. You're his mechanic."

"Then what about when he called you his friend?"

"He did no such thing. He listed you, the Idiot, Princess Airhead, the Prehistoric Prostitute, and the Amphibian, but not me."

Lucca was silent for a moment, then she smiled wryly. "I've noticed something," she said. "You've started referring to Robo with personal pronouns."

Magus offered no reply.


	23. Dissent

Once Lucca, Robo, and Magus were back at the End of Time and rested up, the seven time travelers convened on what to do next. Aside from the mysterious person who needed help, the only thing that seemed to be left was the time-transcending Black Omen. "Think it's time?" Crono asked.

"It might be," Lucca replied. "I can't think of anything else. We have to fight Lavos sometime, and Epoch might be damaged too badly to take us home if we fly it to the Day of Lavos. Plus, I don't want to take the risk of sending only a few of us up against the creature that destroyed an entire planet."

"So you don't think we can do it with just three?"

Lucca exhaled through her teeth. "Honestly, no," she said. "You and Frog and Marle better take the Gate Key to Truce, our time. Robo, Ayla, you two are coming in Epoch with me. Magus? I'll come back for you when I drop everyone off at Melchior's house."

There were grave nods from all. "Then let's all promise each other that we're all going to live through this," said Marle.

"It won't do any good," said Magus.

Marle made a face. "Well, I think it will!" she told him.

"I'm inclined to agree with Magus," said Lucca sullenly. "If we make any promises, it'll just be all the worse when one of us gets killed."

"What happened to the cheerful inventor I used to know, huh?" Marle asked her. "Look, Lucca, we can do it if we all go together. That's why you're going to ferry us up there, right?"

"Look, Lucca, relax," said Crono. "We've got two good healers, one decent one, and a robot that doubles as medical equipment. We'll be fine."

"You'd better be right," said Lucca. "Time to go, I guess. Come on, Ayla, Robo." The three of them hopped into Epoch as Marle, Frog, and Crono headed for the pillars of light. "I'll meet you guys at the fair's main gates," Lucca called to them as she fired up Epoch's engines.

"Roger," said Crono as he faded and disappeared.

-----------------------------

Lucca soon returned to the End of Time by herself, and stepped back onto the dock next to Magus. "This is it," she said.

Magus took her hands in his. "You're shaking."

"One of us might die," said Lucca feebly. "I don't want to die."

"I promise I won't let you," Magus assured her. "Didn't I tell you I would protect you?"

"Yeah... I guess you did," Lucca replied. "But... what about you?"

"You heard what your friend said. We've got two good healers. I'll be fine, won't I?"

"Gods, I hope so." Lucca pressed herself against Magus's chest. "You'd better not let yourself get killed, all right? I'll do my best to make sure you don't."

Magus wrapped his arms around her. "That's my Grease Monkey," he said with a small smile as he held her close. "Well, best not to keep them waiting. Onward."

Lucca nodded and sat down in Epoch's pilot seat, Magus behind her. They were soon in the air above Melchior's house, outside Medina. She landed Epoch, then ferried her friends two at a time to the dock at the bottom of the Omen. After destroying the six guard turrets near the door, Magus approached the door and laid his hand on it. It slid open with a smooth, mechanical hum. The seven filed through it.

"Fools!" said a familiar voice as they entered, and Queen Zeal - or a simulacrum of her - stepped forward out of the shadows. "Haven't you learned your lesson?" she asked. "We are immortal! We shall live forever with Lavos, who devours this world even as He sleeps. Within 999 years He will emerge to become the ruler of this world!" She laughed, a high, thin cackle. "The Black Omen is a path which leads to Lavos. It is a shrine which provides Us with limitless power. As long as the mighty one reigns, your dreams are hopeless!" She leaned forward, a hand outstretched. All hands jumped to weapons, if weapons were to be had, as a horrid, misshapen figure materialized behind the mad queen. "You should sacrifice yourself to the mighty Lavos!" she shrieked, and with a last piercing cackle, she faded away.

As soon as she was gone, the mutated thing she had summoned unleashed a crackle of blue electricity. As soon as it cleared, Ayla was on it like a wildcat, scratching and biting around its lower body. The mutant shook her off, batting her away easily with a thick tentacle, only to take a white-hot flame from Lucca straight in one of its four eyes. It shrieked and released a cloud of purple gas over the heroes as Crono and Frog charged, swords drawn. Covering his face with his cape, Magus leaped forward and slashed with his scythe right at the narrowest part of the mutant's waist. It fell, cloven neatly in two. Thrashing in its death throes, the creature fell from the catwalk into the abyss below. Its gas dispersed.

"We can survive this," said Crono, sheathing his blade. "With seven of us, we can definitely make it out alive. Come on, let's go."

The rest nodded and followed him further in.

Inside the Omen, it seemed like every kind of bizarre, unnatural thing in existence was hostile to them, including some of the wall panels. A hot wind blew through Lucca's hair as she dodged the missiles the wall panels shot at her, and with a burst of blistering heat, the panels glowed white-hot and melted into uselessness. "Very good," Magus told her as the others looked at her, amazed.

The waves of misshapen beasts were relentless as the seven pressed onward. Frog was all but swallowed by a giant, two-headed snake, but Ayla pounced just as it was about to strike and tore out its throat with her teeth.

"We desperately need to find a place to rest," Lucca panted as Ayla wiped ichor from her face. "I don't know where, but we need to find it."

"Well, it's not here," said Marle. "Let's go on a little longer, and find someplace that isn't so near a ledge."

After driving off a trio of floating eyeballs, they came upon a large, open room that was completely empty. "This looks like as good a place as any," said Crono. "Robo can keep watch while the rest of us sleep. I guess it's jerky for dinner again."

"We'll have to live with it," said Marle as she rolled out her bedroll.

------------------------------

Crono lay awake for hours - he wasn't quite sure what, but something about Lucca seemed off. Throughout the day, she'd seemed much colder and analytical than he was used to. Coupled with her immense discharge of magic earlier, it was almost as if she were changing into a different person. She was almost like Magus in her mannerisms sometimes. Come to think of it, she'd been acting pretty close to him lately. Crono knit his brow thoughtfully. What was going on? Lucca used to be edgy around Magus, but ever since she had gone to put Cyrus's spirit to rest, it had been like flipping a switch. Crono extricated himself from his bedroll and approached Magus's body, hovering in sleep. He tripped over Lucca's feet. "Sorry," he said as she turned sleepily toward him.

"Wha? Crono, why are you up?" she asked.

"I have to talk to Magus," Crono explained. "I... I'm worried about something."

"Well, whatever," said Lucca. She rolled back over and tried to get back to sleep.

Crono, meanwhile, went over to Magus and nudged him until he woke. "Not now, Grease Monkey," said Magus, leaving his eyes shut.

"I'm not Lucca," said Crono.

Magus turned over. "What do you want?"

"To know what's going on," Crono replied. "Lucca's been hanging around you much more than is comfortable. You tell me why."

Magus lighted on the floor, and glided silently over to Lucca. "Grease Monkey, he's asking about you," Magus said to her quietly, and she sat up.

"What's he asking?"

"I'm asking why you're hanging around Magus so much. It shows. Sometimes it feels like you're turning into him."

"What? Uh..." Lucca began, and hoped the darkness would hide slight flushing of her face.

Magus rescued her. "She's my apprentice," he explained as if it should be obvious. "Why do you think her magic is second only to mine?"

"You are?"

She nodded in reply to Crono's question.

"This young woman has displayed remarkable talent when I met her and incredible progress under my tutelage." Magus continued. "You'd have the potential too, kid... if I could stand you."

Crono's face twitched. "I don't care!" he nearly shouted. "You're taking my best friend away from me, and... and I don't know what you're doing, but..."

"I don't give a damn about any of you except her," Magus warned. "I will not tolerate any hindrances to Lucca's learning. Because of my teachings, your best friend has learned to melt solid steel in two seconds just by looking at it, and if you want any glimmer of a hope of killing Lavos, you'll let her power grow, so I'd advise you to simply stay out of what happens between Lucca and me."

Instinctively, Crono's hand moved to the hilt of his sword. Magus glared at him. "Try it and I'll turn you inside out without touching you."

"Not if I cut your arm off first, you bas-"

"Stop it!" Lucca hissed. She sprang from her bedroll to stand between them. "Will you both stop it! Crono, I _asked_ Magus to teach me how to use my magic better, and that's what he's been doing. If you would just drop your _childish_ notions of what makes an evil man... I mean, for gods' sake, Crono, Magus is _helping_ us, even after we tried to kill him! And you, Magus, I don't care how much time I've been spending with you, but Crono _is_ my best friend, like he has been for years. Will you just stop _fighting_ with everyone and remember that we are all in this together, for better or for worse?"

Crono and Magus both stared fixedly at Lucca's cross face. Finally, Magus broke the silence when he said, "I didn't teach you that."

"Well, I can do some things on my own, you know," Lucca retorted. "Crono, I'm sorry if I've seemed distant. I've just been so caught up in all this magic business that... I don't know. I'm sorry. We're still friends, so I'll try to act like one again." She paused. "Now, let's all just go back to bed, all right?"

Crono was silent for a moment, then said "All right." Soon, it was as if nothing happened, except for Lucca lying awake a little longer. Eventually, she too fell asleep.


	24. Life

The seven continued further into the maze of the Omen's bowels after they were all rested. It seemed that every corner and shadow hid some misshapen creature, usually more than one. Crono's magic was nearly spent, and he and the other organics were tired. Robo needed repairs. "We need to rest," he said after a narrow victory against a green, scaly hulk that had appeared in a flash of yellow light.

"We need to find someplace we _can_ rest," Lucca sighed. "It's not safe here."

"Is anyplace safe here?" Crono asked. "We're inside a temple to Lavos."

"That hallway where we were last was safe enough. We need to find someplace where we'd be able to see an ambush coming, someplace wide, with none of these pools of light on the floor." The eerie glowing pools to which Lucca referred had on more than one occasion hidden attackers.

"If you're sure," said Crono, and they pressed on.

As they passed over a metal catwalk, there was a flash of yellow light exactly like the last one. "Run!" Lucca shouted. "I don't know if we can take another one!"

But just as they passed to the other side of the catwalk, the creature dropped in front of them with a snarl. Lucca looked back. "There's two of them!" she cried. "We're trapped!"

Crono swore and hit one with a blast of ionized air, but that only made it angry. Swearing again, he narrowly dodged a heavy blow from the monster's claw. "Ayla, Marle, come help me with this one! Lucca, Frog, Magus, take the one behind us!" he shouted.

Frog was already squaring off against the beast, landing a good blow with his sword when he could, though he was quickly being backed into a corner. Lucca threw fire at it, but missed due to her efforts not to hit Frog, as Magus sent a stream of shadows directly at its head.

The dark tendrils dissipated harmlessly against the monster's hide. The great scaly beast turned its head with a snarling grin, drew back its claw, and sent a mighty, backhanded blow into Magus's chest, sending him flying backwards a full twenty feet with the force of the attack. He passed out before he had a chance to feel his head crack against the metal wall.

Lucca froze as she saw it. Time slowed down as her teacher, her lover, her friend flew through the air and connected with solid metal, then crumpled on the floor, unmoving. A panicked scream, then a howl of rage and grief, then a glare of hatred. She wiped tears from her vision, leveled her gun between the beast's eyes, and pulled the trigger once, twice, again and again, blasting at its head and sensitive neck until, with a roar of pain, it keeled over, twitching. Quick as a wildfire, she dashed to its prone form, forced the barrel of her gun between its jaws, and fired again twice. Ichor pooled at the back of its head. Vengeance was hers.

Abandoning the beast's body, Lucca rushed to Magus's side and tugged him onto his back. His hair was tangled and wet with blood from the wound caused by slamming into the wall. She turned him onto his back - his face was damp with a cold sweat. "Marle!" she cried. "Marle, Frog! I need you, right now!"

Two sets of footsteps ran to help. Frog was panting, and Marle was nursing a long, fresh scar down the side of her neck. At the sight of their ally lying limp, blood oozing from his head, Marle knelt by Magus, closed her eyes, and laid her hands on his chest. A thin, pale blue light gathered, the bleeding slowed until it had almost stopped, then the light fizzled. Marle squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, forcing more of her magic out of her hands and into the body of her fallen comrade, stopping once to ask Lucca for an ether - the last one - and gradually, the wound closed. She sat back and took a deep breath. "I don't think I can do any more," she said.

Lucca leaned over Magus's chest. She placed two fingers on the side of his neck, her brow furrowed. She moved her fingers, then again, panic growing on her face. "I can't find a pulse," she whispered, and leaned further to listen. "Oh gods... oh gods, he's not breathing!"

"What?" Marle sat back up and placed her hands directly on the skin of Magus's face, knitted her brow, and strained her hardest to squeeze just a little more healing out of herself. Four seconds, and she fell away, gasping for air. "I can't," she said. "I'm all burned out... I'm sorry."

"You have to! Marle, he's... oh gods, he's dying, and you can't do anything but _sit_ there and _apologize_ to me, and... and..."

"I can't!" Marle sobbed. "There's nothing left! I've used it all, the ether wasn't enough! It was too much with the head wound and all his broken ribs! I don't have any magic anymore to cure a paper cut, let alone this! I... I can't... I just can't..."

"Frog! Do something!"

Frog shook his head. "It is beyond my power to bring a man back from the brink of death," he explained. "I'm so sorry, Lucca."

"Anyone... Ayla... Robo... Someone... do something... please, anyone... anything..." She felt Crono put his hand on her shoulder, comforting, wordless as he often was.

And through the tears came a spark of hope. "Crono," Lucca whispered. "Crono! Help me get his armor off, quickly!" She wiped her tears again, bit her lip, and started frantically unlacing the leather breastplate. Crono nodded in agreement, if not understanding, and worked on the other side. He pulled Magus's armor off, and Lucca yanked off Magus's undershirt to reveal his bare chest. "Put your hands here," she instructed, placing one of hers just below his right collarbone and the other on his left side, then positioning Crono's as hers had been. "On my mark, shock him. Just once."

"Are you sure you know -"

"It can't make things worse! Just do it!"

Crono nodded, and looked to Lucca. She stepped back. "Now!"

A quick jolt of electricity caused Magus's body to convulse slightly. "Wait for it," Lucca instructed. "Can you feel a pulse?"

Crono placed two fingers on Magus's neck the way he had seen Lucca do. "No," he replied, worried.

"Do it again," Lucca instructed. "On my mark... now!"

Once more, Magus twitched. "Check again," Lucca told Crono.

"I feel something! It worked!"

Lucca breathed a sigh of relief, then her face hardened. "We're not out of this yet. Is he breathing?"

"No, I don't think so. But..."

"I know. It's all right, you don't have to. I will." She nudged Crono out of the way and knelt at Magus's side again, leaning over his face to check once more. He still wasn't breathing. Biting her lip, she tilted his head back and held his mouth open with one hand, then hesitated, nervous with four sets of eyes focused on her. It was too much like...

_I can do this,_ she told herself, and shaking of her unease, took a deep breath and sealed her mouth over Magus's. _Breathe_.

Magus's chest rose as Lucca's fell. She breathed for him again, and again, and twice more after that, before coming up panting, her face next to his mouth. A thin mist formed on her glasses. She sat up, an exhausted, relieved smile on her face. "He's alive."

"Pardon," came Frog's soft voice. He stretched one hand over Magus's prone form, and a few golden sparkles gathered, then dissipated. Magus's shallow breathing became stronger, steadier. "He shall awake on his own now, on the morrow."

"Thank you..." Lucca replied. "I... need to rest too. Can we camp here? I don't think we can afford to be picky anymore."

There was a general nod of assent, and Ayla helped Robo to set up two three-man shelters. "All right, Crono, you and Marle share that one with Ayla," Lucca instructed when they were up. "I'll be in the other, keeping these two from killing each other in their sleep. Robo, you keep watch. Frog? Help me carry him, please?"

"Lucca, wait," Crono began as Lucca placed one arm behind Magus's back and supported his head with her other hand. "I've... never seen you do anything like that. I mean, not just the berserk rage thing, but then you went and..."

"I would have done the same for you!" she interrupted. "Or Marle, or Ayla, or... well, not Robo, he's much easier to fix than that."

"No, I mean, how do you know all that stuff? I thought you only did machines."

"My dad used to take me camping when I was a little kid," she replied. "He taught me in case anything went wrong. And the shock thing, well, I read about that being done with machines to re-start a heart. I'm just glad it worked."

"Well... so am I, I guess."

"Night."

"See you in the morning."

After she and Frog had gotten Magus, still asleep, inside their shelter and resting comfortably, Lucca smiled at his sleeping face. "You know, when I started on this whole thing, I never would have imagined in a million years that one of the lives I saved would be yours."


	25. Endgame

"We're close," said Marle as she tended to Magus the next morning. "I can feel it."

"Close to what?" asked Crono.

"The center," said Marle. "We've got to be. It's been two whole days."

"I hope you're right and that this really is almost over," Crono said by way of a reply. "Come on, let's go." He laid his hand on the door they hadn't come in by, and it slid open with a hum. It led to a small alcove, but before he reached the door at the other side, he stopped in his tracks. Beams of purple light shone from the corners of the room, and where they met, sparks flew as the familiar shape of a Gate popped into existence.

As Crono stepped forward, the Gate expanded into a pure black orb. Light glinted off of something chitinous within, and as the Gate collapsed in on itself again, a thirty-foot Lavos spawn crawled forward on its tiny legs. With a wail, it retracted its beak slightly and shot needles from its shell in all directions. "Watch out!" Lucca called to Magus, dodging a salvo that came at her while simultaneously casting a flame in front of him to incinerate the needles before they hit. Magus recoiled and caught the remainder of the needles with his cape as Robo launched his fist into the Spawn's beak, Ayla's foot close behind. Ayla scratched and bit as she pried Robo's fist from the Spawn's jaws and tossed it back to its owner.

The Spawn roared, and the floor glowed red and began tearing itself apart, chunks of it flying about the room. "Everyone down!" Crono ordered, and all but Robo ducked to avoid the flying stones. As soon as they settled, Crono nodded to Ayla and Frog, and the three of them converged on the Spawn's beak, hitting with both swords and a mighty kick. With a last blast of needles, the spawn shrieked and lay still. Marle stood up. "Is everyone all right?" she asked.

"I'll be fine," Lucca replied. "Tend to Ayla, though, she looks a little the worse for wear from those needles."

Marle nodded and laid her hands on Ayla's side, channeling the cool, healing power through her hands. Soon, Ayla's cuts were scarred over with new skin.

Once Marle and Frog had healed his allies, Magus opened the door the Spawn had been guarding. A curious sight greeted him: in the temple-like room, copies of Crono, Marle, Lucca, Robo, Frog, and Ayla hovered motionless, entombed in pillars of light. Lying enshrined on a pedestal at the back of the room was the rusted, broken form of the Mammon Machine. As the seven approached it, a brightly-glowing human form appeared in the air before it. The light faded, and Queen Zeal lighted on the floor.

"Behold, my pretties! Destiny, in its most brutal form." She waved her hand at the six pillars of light. "All the dreams that might have been," she continued. "All the happiness and sorrow that you might have experienced. Gone forever! For you, there will be no tomorrow!"

She turned. "The Dark Omen transcends time and space, waiting for Lavos to awaken! Destiny has led you here. And here you shall rest forever, unless you can defeat me and smash the Omen!" The mad queen looked over her shoulder, eyes glinting. "Come, dear friends," she said. "Perhaps I can persuade Lavos to share His dreams with you!" Her crazed grin widened. "Did I say 'dreams?'" she cackled. "I meant His eternal nightmare!"

With that, Queen Zeal released a halo of bright, colored light that would have left her opponents barely able to stand had Frog not thrown up a buffer of healing energy. There was a spark of tacit understanding between Lucca and Magus as Robo stepped forward between them. "Crono, distract her!" Lucca shouted.

"On it!" said Crono. "Ayla, let's go!"

Ayla nodded and grabbed Crono, hurling him sword first at Queen Zeal. He sliced at her as he passed, tucked and rolled as he landed, and leaped at her again as Lucca and Magus murmured arcane words. Again, they flickered in and out of existence as Robo rose into the air. The world turned inside out as Robo fired his laser, and the mad queen fell to her knees.

"...powers don't work... wait!" she muttered, and her eyes lit up. "Toss you to the Mammon Machine!" she said, her voice gaining volume. "You'll be one with the Omen, Lavos... and me!"

Everything went dark. When Lucca could see again, she saw that she and the six with her were floating in a blue abyss, along with the silvery ghost of what the Mammon Machine had once been.

"Blast it!" Lucca shouted to the others once her head had cleared. It was a command, not an expletive. Gathering her power, she sent a wave of white-hot air at the machine just as Crono launched a great, ionized orb. The Machine flickered for a moment, then released a column of hot energy around the entire party. Thinking fast, Magus projected a shield to absorb the worst of it.

"All at once!" Lucca called to Crono and Marle after she recovered from the hit. There was a sharp smell of ozone as Crono turned the air the bright blue-green of a static shock, and without a second of pause, Marle and Lucca released as much magic as they could at a time. The sharp change in temperature blew through the machine, and again, everything went dark.

As the world faded back into view, Lucca could hear the sound of engines. Thin, bright-pink conduits were the first thing she saw, and as she stood up, she realized where she was: on top of the Black Omen's hull. A beam of blue light shot upward, and Queen Zeal stood in the air before them.

"You cretins..." she said, face twisted in ugly rage. "I plan to live with Lavos, and control the universe forever. You will not get in my way!"

"Idiot," said Magus, looking downward. "Nothing can live forever." He turned to the woman who was once his mother. "Zeal... a pitiful woman, duped by Lavos. I myself will bring an end to all this!"

Queen Zeal glared back at him. "Prophet!" she spat. "You are doomed. I haven't forgotten what you did at the Ocean Palace. Your life is forfeit!" She glowed a blinding white, filling Magus's entire field of vision. When the light faded, Queen Zeal was transformed: a huge, gold-crowned mask of her face, flanked by two enormous hands.

Marle got out her crossbow and leveled a bolt between the mask's eyes just as the transformed queen's left hand pointed with its longest finger and shot a bright yellow ray at her. She dodged, and her shot went wild, narrowly missing the other hand, which swooped forward to grab Marle and squeeze. With a shout, Crono leaped at the mask, breathing heavily and dodging about in a blur of slashes. The mask's expression changed briefly to one of pain, and the hand dropped Marle, crushed nearly to death.

Ayla distracted the great face with a flaming kick courteousy of Lucca as Frog leaped to Marle's aid. Ayla's foot hit the mask's eye, momentarily blinding the queen and giving Marle a chance to get back on her feet. "We need to guard ourselves!" Marle gasped. "She's too strong with no wards!"

Magus nodded and threw a faint, green shield around as many people as would fit, and not a moment too soon. A glowing magic circle containing a six pointed star appeared on the floor beneath them, then erupted in a huge gout of water, leaving all six living people choking and Robo in a short-circuited heap - had it not been for Magus's shield, some of them might have been swept away. Gasping for air, Marle braved Queen Zeal's bolts of energy to get Frog, then the rest of them, back up. Crono, Frog, and Ayla converged on the mask, and in Queen Zeal's moment of distraction, Lucca pulled the pin from one of her strongest explosives and hurled it at the queen. It hit just as the other three fell away, and burst in a sphere of roiling flame.

As soon as the flame cleared, Magus was on the mask, his scythe jammed between the eyes. He wrenched it downward, leaving a huge gash. The mask fell in two, then it and the hands dissolved, forming themselves back into the human Queen Zeal. She panted, enraged. "How dare you insects come after _me!_" she shrieked, and stood up straight. "Oh almighty Lavos, lend me your power!"

A cold wind blew through Queen Zeal's cloak as she cackled. "At last, Lavos awakens!" she said, her face showing not a hint of sanity. "Compared to Him, you are like germs! But I... I shall obtain immortality!"

Deep under the sea beneath the Black Omen, Lavos stirred. The surface of the water took on an eerie blue glow, and the Black Omen - and every being touching it - dissolved.

Lucca, Magus, Crono, Robo, Ayla, Frog, and Marle floated in a blue void, all eyes fixed on the gargantuan beast before them. Even the four who had seen Lavos at the Ocean Palace felt not ready for it. Steeling himself, Crono charged forward as Lavos let out a chilling scream, and was hurled backwards by an explosion as Lavos summoned destruction from the heavens. The universe opened up as Magus released his power, but what instantly reduced guard robots to useless wrecks only made Lavos angrier, if Lavos could be angry. Opening its three-pronged beak, it discharged arcs of blue lightning, which Frog caught on his shield as he sliced at Lavos's single eye. "Methinks the beast art weaker than 'twas at the Ocean Palace!" he called.

"Good! Then we have a chance!" Lucca called back. Concentrating, she released a blast of pure heat. The sensitive flesh between the spikes of Lavos's shell blistered, and as it screeched, Crono and Magus leaped forward at the same time to bury their weapons in its eye. At the same time, they summoned lightning bolts, channeling them through the metal blades. Lavos gave its piercing, gurgling scream, and Crono and Magus leaped back just before it snapped its beak shut, bleeding. Frog sliced at the beak, but his sword glanced off the tough shell.

"Crono! Lucca! You magic me!" Ayla shouted. "I kick! You magic me so I kick through!"

"All right, worth a try," Lucca called back. "Get ready, and don't move until I say so! Crono, make sure you concentrate until she lands that kick!"

With that, Lucca and Crono sent their magic of heat and lightning to envelop Ayla's feet. "Go!" Lucca shouted, and Ayla leaped at Lavos.

Crono and Lucca kept their minds focused on not letting their magic hurt Ayla, and with a loud crunch, Ayla's foot broke through the hairline gap between the parts of Lavos's beak, delivering the fire and lightning. "Robo! Come pull!" she shouted, and Robo came to her aid. The two grabbed the side of Lavos's beak and yanked as hard as they could. With a sickening squishing sound, the weakened part of the beak came off.

"Get clear!" Lucca called to them. As soon as they were out of the way, Lucca hurled her most powerful bomb into the gap Robo and Ayla had left. She ignited it with her magic, and with a mighty explosion, the bomb blew Lavos's beak clean off, leaving a ragged hole in the shell where it had been. She dropped to her knees. "It's finally over..."

"Not yet," Robo beeped as his sensors whirred. "I sense a powerful life force within Lavos."

"So we have to go in there," said Lucca weakly.

Magus nodded. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Lavos," he said. Turning, he said "Follow me," and walked into the darkness of the hole Lucca's bomb had left.

Once everyone was inside Lavos, Lucca conjured a flame to light the darkness. Lavos's blood vessels gave off an eerie green glow, but that alone was not enough to properly see by. "We're all okay, right?" she asked everyone. Crono, Marle, Frog, Ayla, Robo, Magus - all were there.

"According to my sensors, we are close to the center," said Robo.

Magus nodded. "No turning back now," he said quietly, and led the rest closer and closer to the source of the booming heartbeat and raspy breathing of Lavos.

Lucca nearly stopped breathing as she looked upon what was making the sound. "This's the real thing? What... what kind of a creature IS that?" she asked. There was no way this was not Lavos's center of control: it was almost a being in itself, connected to the mainly-empty shell by thick, fleshy tubes. It looked almost like a man in insectile armor, connected to the floor at the waist. With every breath, articulated sacs moved in and out, pulsating eerily.

Magus stepped forward, eyes steely. "Finally... you have met your match, Lavos!" he shouted at it.

It wasn't clear if Lavos was responding to Magus when it spread its arms wide, but whether it was or not, there was no use in hesitating. "Hit it with everything you've got!" Crono yelled as he drew his sword. "Lucca, Magus, do that thing with Robo again! I'll - aagh!"

Crono was cut off as Lavos sprayed beams of yellow light over all seven of them. "Go!" he said as he and Frog charged forward, and Lucca and Magus began their now-familiar chant again. Robo's supercharged laser hit Lavos's inside as Magus's spell turned it inside-out, and Lavos shrieked when the world returned to normal. It struck at Robo with one of its mighty claws just before Crono released a massive ball of glowing air. As Lavos recoiled, Ayla leaped on it, scratching and biting at the joints in its armor until one of its arms hung uselessly at its side. She jumped at the other arm, but it swatted her away - and in the moment of Lavos's distraction, Frog buried his sword in Lavos's shoulder.

Even with no arms, however, Lavos was not helpless. It discharged a dark cloud of gas from the pores of its body, and while everyone was blind, shot a gout of fire at Lucca. Magus moved to block it with a magical shield as Frog blasted high-pressure water at Lavos's face.

At that, Lavos turned the ends of its fleshy tubes inward. From each of their multifarious ends came white-hot flame, enveloping the entire party. Lucca couldn't see, and all she could hear was roaring. Her scream was drowned in the overwhelming wildfire, and she barely heard someone say "No, demon, you won't take this one!" She blacked out -


	26. Goodbye

Lucca opened her eyes. The bright, afternoon sun shone in through the window. "Am I dead?" she asked nobody.

"I should hope not!" said her mother's voice. Lucca turned. There was Lara, sitting by her bedside. "You were asleep for two whole days," Lara explained. "Which reminds me..." She stood up from her chair and called from Lucca's balcony. "She's awake!" she said, and sat down again next to Lucca.

"Your teacher is so thoughtful," she said as Magus came up the stairs. "He barely left your side. He looks so familiar, too, but I can't quite place it... have you really been learning magic?"

"Yeah," Lucca replied. She sat up in her bed. "I don't think I'm strong enough do any right now, but it comes in really handy when I'm building things. I don't need soldering irons or welding torches anymore."

Lara nodded. "You'll have to show me after you've gotten better," she said. "Imagine, my daughter learning such a lost art! By the way, what happened to you? Mr. Zeal hasn't been very talkative."

Lucca sighed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said. "But do you remember what happened at the fair, when Dad and I were exhibiting our Telepod?"

Lara nodded. "Yes, Taban did tell me. A girl vanished because of it. Did you ever find her?"

Lucca nodded. "That girl was Marle. Remember? She came to dinner here. As it turned out, she was wearing an ancient relic of a destroyed kingdom, and that reacted with the matter transporter and sent her four hundred years into the past."

"No!"

"If I were lying, I'd come up with something believable," said Lucca. "Anyway, she left her pendant - that was the relic - behind, so Crono put it on to go after her. I managed to replicate the effect by building a sort of a key, so I went after him. So once we were there, we found out that Marle had been mistaken for her ancestor." Lucca took a deep breath. "Marle... is actually Princess Nadia."

Lara stared. She turned to Magus. "Is this true?" she asked.

"I hadn't met your daughter by then," Magus answered, "but I assure you it is true."

"So after we found the real Queen Leene and brought Princess Nadia back here..."

"...Crono was arrested for kidnapping her," Lara finished. "Well, at least it makes a little sense now, why he was arrested. I'm glad you got that all cleared up."

"Not without me quite literally tranqing guards and busting him out of prison," Lucca continued. "There was a... misunderstanding, and he was sentenced to death. Marle... Princess Nadia... came with us when we escaped, but the guards chasing us backed us into a corner in the forest."

"So... how did you escape?" Lara asked, not sure if she was simply playing along or if she actually believed her daughter.

"There was another time gate in the forest. We didn't know where it would take us, but we didn't have a choice, so we escaped through that. It sent us thirteen hundred years into the future. It was, shall we say, post-apocalyptic. Nine hundred and ninety-nine years from now, a giant alien parasite emerged from the planet's core and laid waste to everything, so we -"

"This is getting silly. A giant alien parasite? That sounds more like something from one of your video games."

"I tell you, every word of it is true. Why would I bother making up a lie that was as ridiculous as this?"

Lara shook her head. "You do make a logical point, but it's still hard to believe," she said.

"Is it any less believable that me learning magic, or maybe a talking, three-foot-tall frog that walks on two legs like a human?"

"When did frogs get involved in all this?" Lara asked.

"I'll have to introduce you to him," said Lucca. "He helped us find the real Queen Leene when we were looking for Marle."

Lara shook her head. "I suppose you will," she said.

"But to get to the point, Crono, Marle, er, Janus, and I, plus a highly advanced robot from the future, the talking frog I mentioned, and a prehistoric tribal chief all banded together to destroy the alien parasite before it could ruin the world in 1999. That's why I asked 'Am I dead' as soon as I woke up - I got knocked out or something while we were fighting it."

"Advanced robot... not the one that's turned off downstairs?"

"Robo's downstairs?"

"He is," Magus told Lucca.

"Well, that makes sense, I guess," Lucca replied, nodding. She turned back to her mother. "He was closer to me than to anyone else. If you turned him on, you'd realize he's definitely not of this age. He's got a whole personality, and self-adapting software that lets him learn things on his own, like a human."

Lara exhaled audibly. "If that's true, I have the most amazing daughter ever to live," she said. "Enough of that. Whether or not I should believe all that, you've been sleeping for two whole days. You must be famished. Can you get up?"

"I don't feel dizzy or anything," Lucca replied. "But yeah, I'm really hungry. We should fix that. And I've still got my time machine. I'll prove to you that everything I said is true."

After she had eaten, she went with Magus straight to the fairgrounds, Gate Key in hand.

---------------------------

Lucca couldn't sleep that night, four hundred years before her return home. She and Magus had checked into the inn in Truce with the intent of an audience with the king the next day. Her intent was to bring King Guardia XXI to her own time as proof of her ability to travel between eras, and he was only the first of three she would take with her. But something hung over her head: the Gate she had traveled through to get here had seemed weaker than usual. She would soon have to say goodbye to all of her dearest friends, save Crono and Marle.

She would have to say goodbye to Magus... forever.

"Magus?" Lucca whispered. He opened one eye as he turned his head toward her with a 'Hm?'

"I... let's go somewhere else," she said, her voice somewhat hoarse. Magus noted the expression of anxiety on her face, alighted at the end of his bed, and followed Lucca to the end of the upstairs hallway of Truce Inn, where there was a small balcony. Though he only had his hand on her shoulder, he could feel just by that that her entire body was tensed. He sat down next to her on a wooden bench, and contemplated the moonshadows cast by her worry-creases. "I... it's... ending," Lucca finally whispered, her eyes fixed on the railing. "Once... I remember, even... I couldn't wait to get rid of you, but now... it's tearing me up inside to think of you gone..."

Magus swallowed. It was true - Lavos had been defeated, and it would be a few days at the most before every Gate permanently sealed itself. He, along with Frog, Ayla, and Robo, would be departing soon, never to return. "I... you're... you're right," he replied, and heaved a heavy sigh. _My fault again_, he caught himself thinking. _I should never have let this happen. I'm losing someone again, and this time I have only myself to blame..._ "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Foresight..."

"Foresight has nothing to do with it! Things like this... they just happen!"

"It's my fault and you know it," he shot back halfheartedly. "I fell for you first, and if I'd just kept it to myself, I'd have saved us both a lot of heartache. Really, there are some people I'd want to inflict that on, but not you... but I did it again; I let selfishness rule me. And look what it's done."

"Something you can't control isn't selfish!" Lucca persisted.

"No, but I slipped and let it cloud my judgment - I didn't register that we'd have to leave each other, even though I knew full well that was the case!" Magus nearly shouted. He sighed and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry. It's just... it's a shock when it shouldn't be."

"And it's worse because there really isn't any way for us to ever see each other again," Lucca said glumly. "And that we know what's coming. Not like Crono."

The inkling of a snide, nearly-cruel joke stirred in the back of Magus's brain, but it never developed into anything coherent. "Or Schala," he said instead. "I thought I could save her..."

"Could she have survived?"

Magus sighed. "I really don't know," he said. "But still, I feel that somehow, I have to find her. Even if she didn't survive."

Lucca nodded. "I know," she said. "I understand."

Magus sighed. "I'm glad to have known you," he said. "But there's no point in staying up this late before an audience with the king. You should sleep."

Lucca bit her lip. "I know," she said quietly, and turned to Magus, her eyes tearing up. "Why do you have to go? It's not fair!"

"There isn't a lot that's fair," Magus replied. "Come here." He took her in his arms and held her close. "You'll remember me. I'll remember you. And maybe you can find a new way to travel across the ages and find me."

Lucca sniffed. "I hope so," she whispered. "I hope so."

"There you go," said Magus, running his fingers through Lucca's hair and kissing her forehead. "Now, let's go back to sleep. I don't want to be tired when I sign that peace treaty with the King. And if we really are going to see the last of each other soon, we ought to make the best of it."

-----------------------------

Once Lucca had brought King Guardia XXI to her own time, along with Kino and Doan, she set off with all of them, plus Magus, to seek an audience with her own king. It had been a very strange feeling visiting a future that was as bright and green as her own time, as well as difficult to convince Doan that she was a time traveler who had saved their world, but with the help of King Guardia she was able to do it.

Getting into the castle once she was back in her own time was easy, since she was remembered as one of the three people who had cleared the King's name and revealed the false chancellor. The harder part was getting him to believe her story - but with the help of Guardia XXI, Magus, Frog, and the records in the royal library that spoke of Queen Leene's unique amphibian bodyguard and the peace treaty Magus and Guardia XXI had signed, the king believed her.

"I also have an idea for a positively brilliant prank," she told the King once he believed her. "If you're going to grant any honor to Crono, here's my idea..."

--------------------------------

Seeing Marle and Crono's faces when Marle's father revealed that he knew of their exploits had been worth every second of persuasion she'd had to pull on the king to get him to play along. Now, Crono and Marle walked at the head of the closing parade of the Millennial Fair as Lucca and the rest waited for them near the Telepod. She stood with the Gate Key, holding open the Gate which had started the whole thing. "Well, everyone, this is it," she said with a brave smile after Marle and Crono arrived. She looked at Frog, Robo, Ayla, and Magus in turn, then at her feet.

"Each to thine time," said Frog.

There was a pause, then Robo beeped. "The Gate has grown weak," he said.

Lucca stepped forward. "We have to say our goodbyes before the Gate closes."

"You're all leaving?" Marle asked, sounding a bit shocked.

Magus nodded. "All of us have things to which we must return."

With that, Ayla grabbed Kino's hand and pulled him toward the Gate. "Crono was strong! Marle too!" she said, smiling at them. "Ayla have fun!"

Marle smiled a little, and looked at Kino. "You're my distant ancestor," she said to him. "So you'd better have tough kids, or I'll be in trouble!"

Kino laughed. "No worry!" he said. "Ayla VERY strong!"

"Right!" said Marle, then she paused. "Hey... what do you mean by that?"

Ayla cuffed Kino playfully. "Kino dummie!" she said. "We go now!" She pushed him through the Gate, blew a kiss to her friends, and jumped in after him.

Frog shut his eyes. "'Tis a feisty crowd!" he said as Ayla vanished into the blue. "But they art thine kin, and 'tis of consequence." He turned to King Guardia XXI. "Queen Leene awaits. Your Majesty, we too shall take our leave."

The king nodded and stepped through. "Mr. Frog..." Marle called just as Frog was about to do the same.

Frog turned. "Long farewells ne'er were necessary," he said sadly.

"Right!" said Marle, stepping up to him. "Besides, actions speak louder than words." She leaned forward and kissed his head. Frog leaped half his height in surprise.

Lucca laughed weakly. "Yeah," she said. "Don't these things usually end with the princess kissing the frog?"

Frog's throat fluttered in a laugh, and he disappeared through the Gate. With a sigh and a last look toward Lucca, Magus glided over to the Gate.

"So..." Marle began. "You're going to search for Schala?"

Magus nodded silently by way of a reply as he stood in midair before the rapidly-fading Gate. The blank expression on his face threatened to break at any moment. Only Lucca saw the single tear that clung to the side of his nose. Tearing his eyes away from her, he disappeared into the fluctuating blue. Lucca clenched her teeth.

Last to go were Robo and Doan. There was a hissing of pneumatic valves a Robo approached the girl who had restored his life on more than one occasion. "Lucca, I will miss you," he said.

Lucca was silent. She merely examined her feet.

"What's wrong, Lucca?" Marle asked. "Aren't you going to say goodbye to Robo?"

Robo bowed. "She knows," he said simply.

"Knows... what?" Marle obviously didn't.

Lucca shook her head. "Robo was born in a bleak future," she explained in a whisper. "When we defeated Lavos, we changed history." She closed her eyes. "Robo... may not exist in the future."

Robo laughed mechanically. "Please relax. The new future has a place for me!"

Lucca hugged the robot. "Damn it, Robo! Don't pretend you don't care when you're really sad! It just makes things worse!" Tears were not yet forthcoming, but were very close.

Robo knelt and laid a metal hand on Lucca's shoulder. "Lucca, YOU have taught me these emotions. Thank you."

"Tears don't become you, Lucca! Robo will be there in the new future!" Marle said with a forced smile, trying her best to comfort her friend.

Doan vanished into the portal, and Robo stood up. "Good...bye," he said, and walked toward the Gate. He bumped into the Telepod with a metallic clank. "Caution! Oil has washed over my sight sensors. Sight diminished..." He held his hands over his photoreceptors, and Marle laughed.

"Robo..." Crono gave a small smile. "You're crying..." As Marle helped Lucca up, Robo disappeared.

Crono, Lucca, and Marle stood gazing into the Gate. "Do you remember that talk we had?" Lucca asked quietly.

"Talk?"

"You mean about whether our lives flash by before we die?" Marle asked.

"Yeah. I get the feeling that the 'Entity' is finally at rest."

"Yes, I feel that too..." said Marle, and Crono nodded. Marle grinned. "Time travel... how exhausting!"

"We should dismantle the Epoch," said Lucca hoarsely. "Its job is finished."

Crono nodded, and the reality of what was happening hit Lucca full force. She stood stock still, though her knees felt as though they might give way at the slightest provocation. Her lower lip trembled as she struggled to fight back a flood of tears, watching the Gate grow steadily weaker, knowing that she had just seen Magus and Robo for the last time. She closed her mouth and swallowed hard.

Seconds later, the sensation that time had stopped was broken. Lucca yelped a mild curse of surprise as a streak of yellow fur darted between her legs, and hastily jumped aside as Crono's mother shouted "You naughty thing, come back here!" while in hot pursuit of the creature. Just as Crono's mother was reprimanding Crono for the cat's misbehavior, the mouse it was chasing darted between the Gate and the ground. At the very moment it pounced, Crono's mother lunged for the furry body, and both fell through the Gate, which promptly closed, just as Crono was about to yank his mother back. Crono stumbled and knelt on the stone-paved ground, a look of shock on his face.

All three stood paralyzed at what had just happened, mouths hanging open in disbelief. Marle broke the heavy silence. "Oh, great! Crono, that Gate will never open again!"

"I know that! I..." Crono swore with such eloquence that even Lucca was impressed. "I... what the hell are we going to do _now?_ That was my _mother!_ Bad enough that my cat had to go, but..." He swore again, his face a mask of horror.

Marle looked thoughtful. "Well, it looks like we have no choice but to go after them!"

"Go after them?" asked Lucca. "But the Gate's..."

"Lucca, don't turn off your brain yet!" Marle giggled.

Realization dawned upon Lucca's face. "I forgot!" she said, breaking into a wide smile. "We still have a time machine!" She threw back her head and laughed with a combination of relief and wickedness. "Its job isn't finished after all! Marle, I'd probably fall in love with you right now if you weren't a girl! Crono! Hug me!" She threw her arms around Marle's shoulders and kissed her cheek as her tears finally came - but rather than grief, they were for joy.


	27. Out With it

"Gaspar! We've got trouble!" Lucca shouted as she vaulted from Epoch's cockpit at the End of Time. Marle and Crono soon followed.

Gaspar looked up. "Oh?" he said. "I must say, I hadn't expected to see any of you again."

"You wouldn't have except my cat and my mom fell through the Gate when everyone else was going home," Crono explained. "Did a woman with green hair come through here with them?"

"Crono! Thank heaven!" Crono's mother ran down the steps at the sound of her son's voice.

"Yes," said Gaspar with a smile. "And as you can see, she stayed put."

"Is my cat here too?" Crono asked, but his mother shook her head.

"I'm sorry, he wasn't here when I arrived," she said. "But please, I'd like to go home! Can you bring me home?"

Lucca motioned to Epoch. "It'll be a tight squeeze," she said, "but I think we can fit all four of us in here." She sat down in the pilot's seat again, and Crono, his mother, and Marle crammed themselves in behind her.

"What a wonderful vehicle," said Crono's mother as Lucca touched down in front of Crono's house. "Did you build it?"

"No, I just maintain it," she said. "See you. Glad we found you." She took off again, delivered Marle home, and went back to her own house just as the sun had begun to set.

"A royal messenger came while you were out today, Lucca," Lara said as Lucca walked in the door that evening. "The letter was addressed to you. I've put it in the kitchen. Go see what it is, will you?"

The letter in question waited for Lucca at her place. She opened it, pushed her glasses up her nose, and read it. Her eyes widened. "Oh my," she said.

"What's it say?" Lara asked.

"It's about me saving the future," Lucca replied. "I've been given a title. I'm Lady Ashtear now. So are you, Mom, and Dad's been made head of Guardia R&D. And... oh my," she said again. "Crono must have been sent a letter too. He's going to be knighted, and asked to marry Princess Nadia."

"Goodness!" said Lara. "I'm not sure what to say about all this. The messenger certainly did look very official."

"I imagine he did," said Lucca as Lara placed before her a plate of ham and potatoes. "I'm not sure what to say about all this either."

"Then eat," said Lara. "We'll think of what to say about it later."

--------------------------------

As newly-minted nobility, Lucca, Crono, and their families were allowed to come and go as they pleased in Guardia Castle, so that was where they spent much of their time for the next several weeks. Lucca, however, came and went far more often than anyone else, and as time passed, she seemed to become more and more dejected. As she sat at her desk in the quarters she'd been given, she heard the door open. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me," said Marle. "Listen, I'm worried about you. Where have you been taking Epoch all day?"

Lucca was silent.

"You're not your usual self," Marle continued. "I know it's tough letting go of everyone, now that we've defeated Lavos, but... well, you seem to be taking it especially hard."

"I miss him," Lucca whispered. "It's just so hard... I don't know if I'll ever see him again."

"What, Robo?"

Lucca sighed. _Am I ready to tell them, finally?_ she asked herself, and decided she wasn't. "Yeah," she said. "Robo." It was only half a lie: certainly, parting with Robo had been very painful. But she had possessed an entirely different sort of love for Robo than she had for Magus - much like the love of a mother for her child - and Robo would be easier to find, anyway. She'd convinced herself that Robo did actually exist in the new future, since his original assignment to Proto Dome had been to study the humans living and working there: he would have been built before the Lavos Disaster. He would probably be there still. Magus, on the other hand... he definitely _existed,_ but searching an entire planet for him would likely be fruitless. The initial euphoria at the possibility of finding him had faded to the darkness of logic.

"But you know where he is," Marle said, sounding a little confused. "Isn't he working at Proto Dome?"

"Well..." Lucca began. _I really ought to stop keeping this a secret,_ she thought, and made her decision. "Get Crono," she said. "I've got something to tell you. You probably won't believe it."

Marle left and soon returned, Crono in tow. "So, uh, what is it?" she asked.

"Sit down first," Lucca responded. She took a deep breath as they did so. _Spit it out,_ she told herself, and closed her eyes. Fast as she could, she said, "Magus and I were in love with each other."

There was a very pregnant pause before Crono got it together to say, "Wait, _what?_"

"You heard me," said Lucca.

"But I thought you... I'm sorry, that's really hard to believe."

"Crono," Lucca sighed, "we've ridden dinosaurs, befriended a talking frog, and saved the world from a giant space monster. Compared to that, I don't think it's that much stranger. I'll tell you what I told my mom: if I were trying to think up a lie, I'd try to think up one you would believe."

"So, when you kept taking Epoch out, you were..."

"Looking for him," Lucca confirmed.

"You're serious!" Marle gasped.

"Dead serious."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was afraid to," Lucca sighed. "Frog and Robo knew, though. It's thanks to Frog that I stopped hating him."

"Wait, what?" Crono said again.

"I told you, if I were lying, I'd come up with something plausible. Magus actually went to Frog for help on how to be a gentleman. Frog wasn't too pleased, but he did it. He took Magus as a squire and taught him chivalry."

"You're right," said Marle. "Nobody would believe that if it were a lie. Crono, she's got to be telling the truth."

"It's still... I don't know, it's like... I can't wrap my brain around that," said Crono, scratching his head.

"She sure did act like she cared about him a lot when he almost died in Black Omen," Marle pointed out.

Crono nodded. "Wow," he said. "Just... well, I hope you find him. I guess."

Lucca smiled. "Thanks," she said.

-----------------------------------

Magus stood alone of the North Cape, contemplating the futility of his search. Six months had passed: six fruitless, lonely months. _Why did I come back to this?_ he asked himself. He knew the answer, but he still hated himself for it. He'd thrown everything away chasing something that he knew he'd probably never find. He failed to notice the sound of engines - or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he heard the sound, but it didn't register.

"I..." said a female stutter behind him, and Magus finally returned to the real world. He whipped around, and the slightly-confused look on his face melted into incredulity. Lucca stood there, grinning half-stupidly, half-triumphantly. Ripples of hot air emanated from Epoch's engines, where it stood behind her.

"This isn't real," Magus whispered, as he stood rooted to the spot.

"Yes it is," Lucca replied. "Or, it better be." The silly grin remained in its place, though her eyes were starting to tear.

At that point, Magus regained control over his body. He swept Lucca up in his arms, and planted a kiss firmly upon her mouth. Lucca gasped slightly as her helmet flew from her head and landed in the snow at her feet, but didn't care. She threw her arms around Magus's neck and kissed him back with as much fervor as she was receiving. The sharp, chilling sea breeze whipped Magus's cape and hair around them both, so Lucca clung more tightly, forgetting all else but Magus's arms around her, and his face and body pressed against hers. It was more than a minute before both broke away, gasping for air. Tears ran freely down both faces as Lucca rested her head against Magus's chest, and Magus ran his hands through her hair and up and down her back.

"I found you," she said. "Don't ever get lost again."

"Don't you leave me either," Magus told her.

"So you'll come back with me?"

Magus exhaled audibly. "I... I shouldn't," he said. "Your friends..."

"It's all right, I told them," she said. "Guess what? I'm a noble now. So I'll have to marry someone high-blooded..."

Magus blinked. "Did you just ask me to marry you?"

Lucca paused, thinking. "I did, didn't I?" she decided.

Magus hugged her close again. "All right," he said. "I'll go back with you."


	28. Epilogue

The summer sun finally dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows over the streets of Medina. It had been nine years since they had made the Magus their leader again, and eight since he had been married to Lady Ashtear of Guardia Kingdom, officially sealing the alliance between men and Mystics.

"Tell me a story, Mumma," implored six-year-old Nina Ashtear as she was tucked into bed. "Tell it again - the story where you saved the world."

Lucca smiled. "You just don't want to go to sleep," she remarked as she ruffled her daughter's lavender hair. "That one's too long for one night. Tell you what - I'll let you pick a part of it," she offered. "I'll tell you a part of it, but you have to go to sleep when I'm finished, all right? You're tired."

"No I'm not!"

"Nina, you're tired," Lucca persisted. "Listen, Daddy told me that you learned to make magic fire today. Did you really?" It was true; Magus had told Lucca earlier that their little girl had, just for an instant, conjured what had looked like a bright blue flame.

The little girl in question beamed with pride and nodded vigorously. "Casting spells tickles," she commented as she sat back up, undoing Lucca's tuck job.

"Good for you!" Lucca congratulated her with a hug. "No, don't try to show me now - you're too tired -"

"Am not!"

"Oh, really? Then why can't you do it again?"

Nina concentrated hard on her hand for almost ten seconds, then gave up.  
"I can't," she said. "It stopped tickling."

Lucca held her daughter's small hand in both of her own. "Yes, I know," she consoled her. "It's only because you really are tired, even though you don't feel it. The magic will come back tomorrow. I promise. Now, you wanted a story about how your father and the king and queen and I all saved the world, right? Tell me what part you want to hear."

Nina thought for a while, about Ayla and the dinosaurs, and Robo's twin sister, and Frog saving Queen Leene, and freeing the friendly monsters they lived with from the control of the nasty ones... "The magical kingdom in the sky," she decided.

Lucca nodded, and took a deep breath. "Well, after we defeated the queen of the Reptites and their dinosaurs, we all got thrown through time again," she began. "We ended up in a snowy wasteland, but while we were searching for shelter, we found a magical bridge to an island floating in the clouds. There were cities, and they were all ruled by a wicked queen. And once upon a time, your father was a prince..."


End file.
